Persona 5: A Wolf's Strength
by JayH120
Summary: Yasuhiro Nakamura or 'Hiro' is a student at Shujin Academy. But there, he is nothing but an outsider to everyone. Hiro is in for a surprise when he joins a group called the 'Phantom Thieves'. Their mission: to steal the hearts of corrupted adults. Will they prevail in saving the world or are they destined for ruin? Either way, they won't back down, not even if their enemy is a god.
1. A Trickster's Arrest

**I do not own Persona**

**It's owned by Atlus**

**I just own my My OC, Yasuhiro Nakamura and other OC's who may appear**

**Enjoy!**

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**Persona 5: A Wolf's Strength Pt.1**

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**Day: Unknown - Date: Unknown - Time of Day: Unknown - Weather: Unknown - Location: Unknown**

A helicopter zoomed over the water as it flew over the ocean as it made its way over to the large city of Tokyo, Japan. A bright colorful light shined somewhere beyond the large city. That colorful light came from a casino that was right in the middle of the city, an alarm blared loudly, alerting all the patrons within. Everyone seemed scared as they wondered what was happening. Some people were scared as they were running away from whatever was inside the casino with them.

A black-clad figure dove through the air. The figure was completely unseen by the patrons within the casino. Three men in black suits casually walked into the casino taking in the scenery and looking for this suspicious figure that landed on top of a chandelier. His long black trench coat flowed as he stood up. Under his arm was a silver briefcase, he had black curly hair and wore a white and black mask that perfectly framed his face along with him having a confident smirk on his face.

"Hey, up there!" A patron shouted pointing at the figure getting everyone to look where the figure was.

"He's here." said one of the men in black suits as he spoke through a radio. "Move in immediately." He and the two others in similar suits pushed through the crowd to get to the black-clad figure. The figure still having his confident smile on his face decided to take his leave and jumped off the chandelier.

**-O-**

He landed on a lower chandelier as his radio turned on.

"Good," Mona ordered. "Now, get running!"

"This is our only chance!" Crow noted.

"I got this, you guys!" Joker said. "Stay safe!"

"Better hurry on up outta there, Joker!" Skull voiced.

"I'm on it, Skull," Joker answered.

"Joker, we'll retrieve the briefcase on our end," Queen affirmed.

"So that means you better hightail it out of there, Joker," Wolf warned.

"Please, Wolf..." Joker said calmly. "I'm a professional."

"That's not a yes?" Wolf deadpanned.

"It's not a no." Joker joked. Everyone on the radio heard a transmission that's wasn't being picked up all too well. It was garbled so the voice was very distorted with static.

"Hmm...?" Oracle hummed. "What was that?"

"Don't worry about us," Mona said. "Just concentrate on getting away."

"Ready, set, go!" Joker said as started running away.

"But I have to say, showing yourself above that crowd earlier was an excellent move." Mona complimented. "Nice work as always, Joker."

"I bet Skull wouldn't pull it off that smoothly." Panther remarked.

"I must agree there," Wolf said.

"This happens because you have no sense for aesthetics," Fox commented.

"Nobody asked you, Inari!" Skull retorted. Joker smirked at his team's 'banter' as he continued his job as the decoy. He continued his distracting as he was spotted by more men in suits.

"There he is!"

"Just run! Get out of there!" Oracle ordered.

"On it!" Joker answered as he jumped his way to a balcony.

"Ok, the enemies focus in on him," Mona said. "Looks like the rest of us can slip away."

"Everyone remember where we're meeting up?" asked Noir.

"No worries, I can guide you all," Oracle said. Joker jumped on top of the balcony. His escape was stopped short as two men suited men blocked his escape.

"Stop right there!" One of the suits who ran in front of him shouted.

"You won't get away!" shouted the other. Both shaped into the form of shadows. A third shadow landed right behind Joker. The masked young man turned slowly to the shadow behind him.

"Take 'em down, Joker!" cheered Panther. Joker smirked and jumped straight into the air with a flip. He landed on the shadow and grabbed it's mask and ripped right it off its face as it transmogrified before the leader's eyes into a Sacrificial Pyrekeeper. Joker stood ready with his dagger as he got ready to fight.

"Comparing power levels..." Oracle examined. "No threat. Get 'em, Joker!"

Joker only cockily smirked at the shadow as he ripped off his mask. "Persona!"

**-O-**

The group of teens wearing different outfits and mask ran down a long hallway.

"Is there a door or somethin' down here?" Skull wondered.

"There is," Oracle ordered. "Just keep going." Everyone kept their sprint down the hallway and made it to a dead end with only two ways to go. Left or Right. Everyone was turning either way thinking which way to head down.

"Which way?" inquired Fox.

"Oracle?" Queen asked. "Where's that door you were talking about?"

"Let me see..." Oracle eyed the screens in front of her. "It's..." Oracle began to say until...

"Hold it right there, thieves!" called a shadow down the hall followed by a second shadow.

"Damn," cursed Wolf. "Looks like we're gonna have to pick our exit then!"

"Which way's it, Oracle?" Skull asked.

"Right!" Oracle nodded. "We go right!"

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Wolf stated. "Let's go then." The group started running with both shadows on their tail.

"How's Joker?" Panther asked.

"Oh..." Oracle said, eyeing her screens while running as she smiled. "He's doing just fine."

**-O-**

Joker easily defeated the Sacrificial Pyrekeeper with a final attack. The shadow dissipating into a black substance.

"Okay, pull out before their back up gets here," Oracle said. "Joker has emerged victorious."

"Good, Joker," Mona said. "You defeated them with ease."

"More of them!?" Oracle announced. "Be careful!"

Three more shadows appeared in front of Joker. One tried to attack him but her only back-flipped to avoid it. Joker to avoid the rest of the enemies hopped up to an upper level so they couldn't reach him.

"Joker, behind you! Go through that door!" Joker did as the hacker said and dashed through the door.

You should be able to get out that way! Hurry!"

"Dude, can he even hear us!?"

"Don't worry, I'm picking up everyone's voices. Just go, Joker!"

"I'm on it!" Joker answered. He started running through the darkened halls.

**-O-**

The others managed to escape the two shadows chasing them. Everywhere they went were men in black searching for them. The best course of action was to hide and stick to the shadows.

"Tch! We got away from a bunch of those guys in black," Skull grunted. "But there're still loads more of 'em."

"Right?" Wolf agreed while running his fingers through his silvery-white hair. "No matter where we go, they're on us."

"Oracle?" Noir said getting the young girl's attention. "Are we almost out of here?"

"Yep!" Oracle nodded. "There should be a window up ahead where we can escape out of!"

"Excellent!" Crow commented. "Let us be on our way!" The group outfitted teens sneaked past the rest of the suits trying to find them. The group made it to the window Oracle explained to them about but it was guarded by a shadow.

"Great," Skull groaned. "A shadow is standing right where we need to go."

"We should dispatch it and quickly," Crow suggested. "So we can make our way out."

"Who's gonna be the one to take off its mask?" Fox asked.

"I can do it," Wolf spoke up with a nod.

"Are you sure?" Queen asked. "Well, if anything, make it quick, Wolf. Once you do we'll provide you with covering fire."

"Roger," Wolf nodded. "I'll give the signal when it's time." He got into position to get ready to take on the shadow. He sneaked his way toward it and jumped on it and reached for its mask.

"Let's see who you are!" Wolf ripped off the mask and it transformed into a giant blue elephant standing on its hind legs wearing a gold helmet carrying a sword. A being called a Ganesha.

"This'll be easy!" Oracle claimed. "Let's end this quickly!"

The rest of the team joined Wolf in fighting the Ganesha. The Ganesha swung it's sword horizontally toward the team but everyone jumped backward to avoid it. Wolf unsheathed his long sword.

"Physical attacks have no effect on this one!" Oracle noted. Wolf nodded his head and pulled out his AS50 Sniper Rifle and aimed.

"Gunfire should do the trick!" revealed Oracle. The team pulled out their guns and began firing on the Ganesha. The shadow became enraged at all the gunfire and attacked. It ran at Wolf and slashed at him but he jumped back and avoided the sword slash which he blocked with his own. The Ganesha shoved him back and swung it's arm and knocked Wolf back.

"Gah!" Wolf yelled as he was knocked back onto the ground. "Okay, guys, I think now's the time to step in! Like now!"

"Unload on 'em!" Skull announced to everyone as they aimed.

The Ganesha's attention was on Wolf as it stomped over toward him to finish him. The rest of the group pulled out their guns and fired on the shadow. Round after round until it finally fell to the ground. Wolf was about to get up until Crow walked up with a hand extended.

"Here..." Crow said. "Would you like a hand up?"

"Yeah, thanks, Crow," Wolf said accepting Crow's gesture and stood himself up. Queen made her way toward them, her arms folded over her chest.

"You alright?" she asked Wolf. "It seemed like it was agitated and put all of its attention on you. It didn't hurt you at all, did it?"

"I'm fine," Wolf affirmed her. "Got a little dicey toward the end there." Wolf rubbed the back of his head but smiled. "But it all worked out."

"You guys, we gotta go," conveyed Mona. "The gunfire must've been heard."

"Agreed," Crow said. "Enemies must be swarming in on our current position."

"Yes," Fox nodded. "Let us be on our way."

"We gotta go out the window," Oracle said. "Through there we can get out of the palace." All of them made it through the window and into an alleyway showing that they made it out of the casino.

"Everyone okay?" Mona asked everyone. Everyone glanced at one another and nodded, each of them breathing.

"Alright," said Oracle as she pulled up her screens again. "Let's see how Joker is doing?"

**-O-**

Joker pushed his way through a door. As he was rushing out, he caught himself on the railing, placing his hands on it. From below, there were still patrons inside the casino still talking to each other and not even noticing Joker from above.

"Something wrong?" Oracle asked. "The exit should be just up ahead."

Joker brought his head up and saw a large window with bright, rainbow colors. "Through there?" he wondered as he waited for Oracle to confirm if that was his only exit.

"That's just how it is," Oracle explained. "After that commotion, the battle floor is..."

"Completely closed off," Queen finished.

"Hey, can you make it?" Panther wondered.

Joker only smirked confidently. "Don't sell me short all at once. Of course, I can."

"Over there!" one of the men in suits that were chasing Joker announced. He and the other two accompanying him were holding out pistols at Joker. "There's nowhere to run!"

Joker smiled and then hopped over the reeling which surprised the trio of men. Joker was running across the railing, he then jumped toward the other rail and made to the front of the window. Two of the other men suits went to corner him while one of them just kept his gun trained on Joker.

"See ya," Joker bid farewell to the suited men and then jumped right through the window. Screams can be heard from inside as Joker flipped elegantly through the air, the moonlight shining brightly behind him.

"What a showoff," Oracle remarked.

"You're so reckless, you know that?" Panther added. Joker managed to skillfully land onto his feet, rolling on his back and into a crouching position.

"I think you mean precise," Joker quipped as some glass shards fell around him. He stood up as a single bright light shone itself at him and several shined straight at Joker. There weren't just lights but also he was looking at a whole army of police.

"Enemies here!?" Oracle screamed.

"What's wrong?" Crow asked sounding concerned.

"These readings! It can't be!?" Oracle said.

"What happened!?" Skull exclaimed.

"An ambush!?" Panther gasped.

"Joker, can you handle this!?" Mona asked.

"Joker!" yelled Wolf.

"Joker!" repeated Fox.

"Oh no!" Noir screamed.

"Capture him!" shouted a police officer. The police began chasing after the leader. Joker leaped to a ladder and grabbed hold of it. He smirked as he climbed up on it. He assumed that he was actually on his way to escaping. Until making it to the top he saw there were more police waiting for him.

Joker gasped in shock as one of the police took the butt of his gun and rammed the butt of the gun right into Joker's face. Joker yelled in shock and fell right into the crowd of police.

"Suspect secure!" announced one of the police. A detective made his way through the crowd. He stopped right next to Joker who was held down by police.

"Didn't expect to find some kid," said the detective. "You have your teammate to thank for this." He knelt down to grasp Joker's head. "You were sold out."

"What...?" Was all Joker said?

"Suspect confirmed!" An officer called. "Cuff him!" Handcuffs were placed on Joker's wrist.

**-O-**

The group of teens watched as their leader was hand-cuffed and taken away to one of the squad cars. They're seeing the scene from afar as one of the cops shoved him into the back seat.

"Damn," Ryuji grunted through grit teeth.

"Yes," Yusuke nodded stepping up next to Ryuji. "It's quite a disheartening sight to watch as our leader is taken like this. Well, not just our leader but our friend as well."

"We... should go home," Makoto suggested. "They'll be looking for us."

"All we can do is put our heads, huh?" Ann said slowly.

"Right," Morgana nodded. "Now, all we gotta do is wait to put our plan into action."

"I'm sure you guys noticed already..." Hiro brought everyone's attention to him. "Akechi's gone."

"He disappeared a few moments ago," Futaba explained. "We should go."

"Don't look so sad, everyone," Morgana said. "Listen, Akechi had no idea that we pretty much tricked him when he thinks he duped us. Let's get out of here."

"Yes, that would be for the best," Haru stated.

The teens still in their outfits all started walking away. Hiro turned around as all the police began to disperse. Hiro started to think back all the way in April, it was that month when he met his leader and friend.

The day he met... Ren Amamiya

**-O-**

A young woman, in her Mid-20s was walking down a dark corridor. She wore a dark business suit, she had long grey hair, asymmetrically parted to the side. She had a black purse around her shoulder as she stepped down with a serious stride.

"Excuse me, but this area's off-" said a Police Detective that tried to stop the woman.

"I'm Niijima from the Public Prosecutor's Office," Niijima said seriously.

"The Prosecutor's Office?" inquired the Detective. "What business do you have here?"

"Just let me through; it's urgent," Niijima argued. "There's something I need to confirm with the suspect."

"Niijima-san," sighed the Detective. "I believe this case is no longer in your jurisdiction. Besides..."

"Just let her on through," said a serious male voice. It was a man that looked to be in his late 40's with short black hair, he had a bit of stubble on his face, light skin and dark brown eyes. He wore a grey suit with a black tie, a white dress shirt underneath, black slacks and black dress shoes. Over his grey suit he wore a dark brown trench coat. Akitoshi Nakamura was this man's name.

"Nakamura-san?" The Detective said. "Why did you return?"

"I just came to give Niijima the news that she has clearance to meet with the suspect," said Akitoshi. "But first..."

"You prosecutor Sae Niijima?" said an older Detective walking up. "There's a call from your director."

"Yeah, that," Akitoshi said folding his arms.

"Hurry and get it over with," The older Detective said sternly. "To be frank, your being an inconvenience." A vibrate was as Niijima pulled out her phone and answered the call bringing it to her ear.

**"*sigh* I thought I ordered you to stand by,"** The SIU Director said over the phone in frustration.

"I'm responsible for this case, yet I'm not even allowed in interrogation!?" Niijima argued.

**"I'm calling because I knew you'd bring it up,"** He answered.

"I will not be convinced unless I confirm it for myself," Niijima stated. "This is MY case."

**"*sigh* Good luck to you then,"** said the SIU Director. **"I won't be expecting much though."** With that, Niijima hung up her phone placing back in her pocket.

"Prosecutor," The older Detective said. "I forgot to mention something important. Your time will be cut short. We can't permit you to talk to him for long." Niijima sighed quietly as she turned her head. "It's for your own sake. His method's are unknown. After all, we don't even know if it's even safe to even meet and speak with him."

"I understand," Niijima said calmly and started to walk off.

"Sae, hold on?" Akitoshi said gently grabbing Sae's shoulder. "When you get in there, it's not gonna be a pretty sight. I was in there earlier. I tried to get the other guys to not be so hard on him but of course, they wouldn't listen. So, I left. It was hard to watch them beat up a kid that looks no older than my own son. Or hell, no older than Makoto. Try to understand that, alright"

"I know, Aki..." Sae said sigh. "Thank you." She gave him a small smile and started walking off.

"By the way...?" Akitoshi said.

"Hmm?" Sae hummed in question.

"You're starting to act just like your father," Akitoshi smiled. "I can see him in you. You have the same conviction as he did." With that, Akitoshi walked off as Sae watched him a for a bit until she walked her way into the room to meet with the suspect.

**-O-**

Sae sat down in front of 'suspect'. The suspect being Ren Amamiya. He had black curly hair, light skin, dark silver eyes. He was wearing a school uniform. He had bruises on his face from the beating he took from the other detectives. He was sitting in the chair in front of a long, white table. He brought his eyes up at Sae as she took a seat in front of him from across the table.

"I didn't expect it'd be you," Sae said.

"You sound like you're almost in disbelief, Niijima-san?" Ren spoke.

"I'll admit, I am," Sae said. "Amamiya-kun, you'll be answering my questions this time."

"20 questions, huh?" Ren gave a weak smirk. "Sounds fun. It'd beat being manhandled by those jerks from earlier."

"It's a miracle you can still joke even with everything that's happened to you," Sae said as she brought over to a syringe on the ground a few feet away. "Those bastards." She was absolutely disgusted that they would do this to someone so young. "Amamiya-kun? Can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear," Ren nodded slowly.

"Almost anything can happen here..." Sae said. "And I can't stop them. That's why I need you to answer me honestly. I don't have much time either. What was your objective? Why did you cause such a major incident? I didn't think it was a prank from the get-go, but I couldn't assemble a case for prosecution. It's because I couldn't figure out the method behind it."

"Of course you couldn't..." Ren said. "Besides, even if I told you everything, you wouldn't believe me."

"True," Sae said simply. "There's no way I could be convinced of such a... 'world' just by reading the reports. You look coherent enough. When and where did you find out about that world? How is it even possible to steal another's heart? Now, tell me your account of everything. Start from the very beginning."

Ren placed a hand on his head, shutting his eyes as he tried to remember. That moment, everything went dark and a blue butterfly flying right in front of his face. It left little glitters as it flew around him.

_"You are held captive,"_ said a female voice. _"A prisoner of fate to a future that has been sealed in advance. This is truly an unjust game... your chances of winning are almost none. But if my voice is reaching you, there may be a possibility open to you. I beg you. Please overcome this game... and save the world... the key to victory lies within the memories of your bonds-the truth that you are and your friends grasped. It all began that day... when the game was started half a year ago... For the sake of your world's future... as well as your own... you must remember..."_

**-O-**

**Day: Saturday - Date: 4/9/20XX - Time of Day: Early Morning - Weather: Cloudy - Location: Nakamura Residence**

A teenage boy by the age of 17-years old just finished his shower. He was shirtless and barefoot and was now wearing a pair of black shorts. He was drying off his hair with a towel. He finished drying off his hair taking the towel off his head revealing his silvery-white hair that was straight and slightly spiky. He looked in the bathroom mirror to get a good look at himself. Light-skinned with brown colored eyes.

This young man's name is Yasuhiro Nakamura. Though, he prefers to be called 'Hiro' as he found being called 'Yasuhiro' was a bit of a mouthful. Next, he began to brush his teeth and the gurgle loudly and then finally spit in the sink. He turned the water on to clean the sink then turning it off afterward.

"Okay..." Hiro said. "Time to go get dressed and make breakfast before Dad and Hamuko wake up."

School started a few days ago for the first term at Shujin Academy. Hiro began putting on his uniform. It was modified to his own taste. He wore the standard black blazer unbuttoned and underneath it, he wore a white dress shirt both buttoned just enough to reveal a light grey v-neck t-shirt, the standard Shujin red, and black plaid pants and wore a pair of black converse sneakers. The finishing touch that he never goes without is his light-grey bandana scarf that's tied around his neck. He grabbed his school bag and packed in supplies and books as well as his binder and his instant camera and made his way downstairs. Hiro is a photographer. Though he has some pretty great photo's, he considers himself an amateur. That was just the first step to him becoming a professional photographer. He always loved taking pictures, even as a child. His Mother got him into taking pictures and gifted him the camera when he was younger. The bandana scarf Hiro wore was once his Mother's so he wears it to honor her memory.

He stepped down the stairs, placing his school bag next to the kitchen table. Hiro put on a dark blue apron, tying it on from behind his back. It's surprising that Hiro knew how to cook. Now, granted, he was not a master chef. He can only whip up certain things. Though, his favorite food to prepare is pancakes as well as eat them too. So his decision was he was going to make pancakes for breakfast.

He started to prepare the batter by adding flour, two eggs, and then lastly adding milk. He stirred the ingredients until started the thicken up into a batter. He turned on the stove, placing the pan over the flame and added a bit of oil to it. After a little bit of heating up, he added the batter and started preparing the pancakes.

While preparing, down the stairs came his Hiro's 9-year old sister, Hamuko. She had black hair much like their father that was done in a high ponytail and light skin. Her eyes were brown and she was wearing a purple hoodie with long sleeves, a blue skirt and wore white tights under the skirt. She currently had her Buchimaru-kun backpack in her hand as she let out a quiet yawn.

"Morning, Big brother," Hamuko said tiredly but with a smile.

"Hey, good morning, kiddo," Hiro said as he left the pancakes alone for a second to give his kid sister a good morning hug. She sat down at the kitchen table.

"So, what's for breakfast?" Hamuko asked.

"Pancakes," Hiro smiled.

"Ooh~!" Hamuko cheered. "I love pancakes! Especially yours, bro!"

"Well, I'm no 5-star chef but I'm not that bad of a cook," Hiro shrugged. "So, how many pancakes do you want, Hamuko?"

"Mmm..." The 9-year old girl thought for a bit. "Two."

"Oh, no you don't," Hiro said shaking his head. "Come on, be honest. How many?"

"Okay, fine, three!" She answered quickly. "I want three!"

"Coming right up," Hiro smirked as he went back to cooking. It was at this time Hiro and Hamuko's father, Akitoshi Nakamura came into the kitchen. He let out a yawn in his hand.

"Hey, good morning, Dad," Hiro smiled.

"Morning, Daddy," Hamuko greeted with a smile.

"Morning, Hiro," Akitoshi said. "Morning, sweetheart." He gave Hamuko a quick kiss on the forehead and sat down in the chair at the kitchen table. "Hiro? A cup of coffee, please?"

"Sure thing," Hiro said. He grabbed a mug and got liquid from the coffee machine. He kept it black and added two sugars. Just the way his Dad likes it. "Here you go, Dad." He handed his father the cup.

"Thank you, son," Akitoshi smiled and took the cup. "So, I haven't asked...?"

"Asked what?" Hiro wondered as he finished the pancakes and brought the three pancakes that Hamuko asked for and put them on her plate. He put the last two on his own plate.

"So, I take it you are not going to be doing Volleyball again this year because of what happened between you and Mr. Kamoshida?" Akitoshi inquired to ask.

"Hmm?" Hiro hummed as he sat down. "Well, no. Of course, I can't. Not after quitting the team." Hiro quietly said with a sigh.

"I'm still not sure why you quit so suddenly," Akitoshi said. "You joined the volleyball team during your First and Second-year's at Shujin. To me, it seems a little abrupt as to why you would just quit."

"I... know," Hiro said slowly, head down.

"I also couldn't help but notice you coming home with a bruise or two..." Akitoshi continued. Hiro only kept his head down, his hair shading his eyes. "So, is there any particular reason why you would quit unless it had anything to with Mr. Kamoshida."

"There was no reason..." Hiro shook his head. "I'm being honest, really."

"Doesn't sound like it to me!" Akitoshi suddenly raised his voice.

"Dad!" Hamuko shouted abruptly. Both Hiro and his Father stared at Hamuko. A stern expression on the young girl's face that had bits of pancake on it.

"Yes, Hamuko?" Akitoshi said as he looked at his daughter.

"There will be no interrogating in our house!" Hamuko stated firmly. "This isn't the police station." Akitoshi seemed taken aback by his daughter's words.

"You're right," He nodded. "Sorry."

"Hmm!" Hamuko nodded proudly.

"Try not to be so messy when you eat," Hiro said to his little sister, cleaning her face with a napkin. "This year, Dad will be different. I promise you. I'm gonna study hard and pass my Third-year."

"Well... okay then," Akitoshi said. "Studying is important for students."

"Studying is boring," Hamuko chimed, still eating her pancakes.

"Hamuko..." Akitoshi sighed.

"Studying is important, kiddo..." Hiro said repeating his Dad's words. "You'll understand once you reach middle school and high school." His stuck a tongue out at him. Hiro smiled and ruffled her hair lightly. He finished off his pancakes and got up from his chair. "I better get going, I need to catch the train."

"The train?" Akitoshi said. "I could drop you off on my way down to the police station. I'm gonna drive your sister down to school too."

"It's fine, Dad," Hiro said. "Don't worry about it. You both have a good day."

"Alright, son," Akitoshi smiled. "Have a good day."

"Thanks," Hiro said. "See ya."

"Bye, bro!" Hamuko called. "Thanks for the pancakes!"

"Yeah, anytime, kiddo," Hiro said ruffling his sister's hair again. "Bye now." He started walking to the door.

"Hold on, Hiro..." Akitoshi said.

"Yeah?" Hiro answered turning around while hanging his school bag over his shoulder.

"Have spoken to Makoto lately?"

"No," Hiro said with a shake of his head. "Not recently. Why?"

"Well, it's just..." Akitoshi scratched his chin. "I remember the two of you were pretty much inseparable when you were kids. Her Father and I went to the Police Academy together. He was a good man..." Akitoshi said with a quiet sigh. "And a good friend. I'm only asking since I've been working with Sae on a case."

"Sae-san, huh?" Hiro said. "That's interesting. I'll see if I can get a chance to speak to Makoto while I'm at school today. Though, she seems really busy since becoming Student Council President."

"Tell her I said hello~!" Hamuko expressed happily. "I haven't seen her in a while."

"If I get the chance, kid, I'm sure she'll be happy to hear from you," Hiro smirked knowingly. "Okay, I'm off. Bye." Hiro gave one last wave and walked to his house door and closed it behind him.

"Hm?" Akitoshi murmured. "He acts so much like his Mother." Hamuko just finished her food and stared at her father and tilted her head.

"Um, Daddy?" Hamuko spoke.

"Nothing, sweetie," Akitoshi said. "Get your bag. I'm gonna drive you to school now."

"Okay," Hamuko nodded getting up to grab her backpack. As Akitoshi himself got out of his chair his cell phone vibrated. He took his phone out of his pocket and noticed the message he had received. He opened it up seeing who it was from.

**[SN: I need your opinion on something.]**

**[SN: Meet me at the Prosecutors Office tomorrow night.]**

Akitoshi read the message and typed out his reply.

**[AN: I'll be there. See ya then.]**

**-O-**

Ren Amamiya. 16 years old. Pale-colored skin, he had a mess of black curls on his head which was his hair, he wore a pair of wide glasses over his onyx doe-eyes. He was wearing the school uniform of the school he was going to attending for his time here in Tokyo, Japan. Ren woke up from his nap as he was riding on the train.

**"Ladies and Gentleman, thank you for riding with us today. We will be arriving in Shibuya shortly."**

Ren put his head down, a scowl adorning his face as he thought about the terrible situation that brought him to Tokyo.

_[Flashback]_

_"Please! Help!" A young woman pleaded for Ren to help her from a man who was grabbing her. How could he not? He figured he had to do something. He made his way up to the man and gently touched his shoulder._

_The man who was in a drunken stupor seemed to try to push Ren's hand off him with a hard turn of his body. From that movement, he started to tumble to the hard ground and fell on his face. __The young woman gasped cupping her mouth. Ren stared at his hands in confusion. The man started to get up, holding his face as blood fell from his forehead._

_"Damn brat!" The man said angrily. "I'll sue!"_

_And just like that, Ren was taken away by two police officers. A look of shock on his expression._

_[Flashback End]_

Ren put down his head in a scowl. His eyes downcast as he thought about that night.

_"What was I supposed to do?" _Ren thought. _"Do nothing?"_

"What? Are you for real?" said a girl's voice. Ren turned his gaze to a female student chatting with her friend. "A Mental Shutdown?"

"It's the truth," The other female student said.

"To a person though?" said the other girl. "That's gotta be a joke. You really love all that occult stuff, don't you?" The girls shared a giggle to themselves as Ren watched them.

_"Why would having a Mental Shutdown be funny?" _Ren thought with a shake of his head. _"Maybe because it's funny as long as it's not happening to them."_

**-****O-**

Ren was finally walking down the street of Tokyo following google maps. He looked up from his phone and saw the ever busy street in Tokyo with a lot of different people walking along the streets. His phone made a beeping sound bringing his attention back to it. As he stared at it he saw a weird-looking icon of some kind. It was a black and red-colored app and the design was an eyeball.

_"What in the world is this?" _Ren thought in confusion.

The icon got bigger looking like it was going to activate. Ren started to push on the icon to see if he can delete it. But, it was then that everything began to freeze around him. All the people who were walking around him began to freeze as well. It was like time stopped for everyone else but Ren.

"Huh?" Ren gasped. "What's going on?" He wondered looking around with his eyes until they stopped on a pillar of blue fire. "What is that?" He breathed out.

The fire seemed to get a face similar to what you see on Halloween pumpkins The face dissipated as Ren saw his own face staring back at him as it had yellow eyes and an evil smile.

Everything went back to normal. People started walking again. Ren stared at all of them. They all act as if nothing is happening at all. Ren finally puts the red and black colored app to the recycle bin on his phone, getting rid of it.

**-O-**

**Day: Saturday - 4/9/20XX - Time of Day: Afternoon - Weather: Cloudly - Location: Subway station**

Later, Ren got off another train and got on the escalator and started making his over to the backstreets of Japan. Yongen-Jaya. Ren was eyeing his phone using it to guide his path through what seemed like the boonies of Tokyo.

_"Okay..." _Ren thought. _"As of today, someone called Sojiro Sakura will be taking care of me. His house should be in the backstreets in the residential area. Time to go on a scavenger hunt."_

Ren started looking around Yongen for the home of his guardian's until he finally spotted the Sakura residence nameplate. Ren rang the doorbell a few times but there was no answer.

"Looks like no one's home..." said a voice a few feet away from Ren. It was a Delivery man.

"Would you know where I can Sakura-san at this time?" Ren asked him.

"Sakura-san's usually at his Cafe around this time," said the Deliveryman. "It's called 'Leblanc'. It's in the back alley."

"Thank you so much," Ren said with a polite bow. Ren began to make his way through the Backstreets. Looking around he finally saw a place with a sign on top that said 'Leblanc' 'Coffee&Curry'.

_"Never thought coffee and curry would be a good combination together?"_ Ren thought as he walked into the small cafe. Inside the cafe, the television was on talking about an accident that happened recently, an elderly couple was watching the news while enjoying some coffee, and a man sitting on a stool.

The man was a middle-aged man. He has slicked-back dark hair with a receding hairline, grey eyes, a chinstrap beard with a goatee that flares out and wears glasses. His outfit was a pale pink dress shirt with his sleeves rolled up and pale khakis with a white leather belt and white loafers. He was wearing a black pinstripe apron. He was working on a crossword puzzle and not even paying attention to the news. He gave Ren the feeling like he was the owner of the cafe. This was the guy he was looking for.

"Vertical is... the name of a shellfish used for farming pearls..." said the owner

"Ah, that would be an Oyster," Ren said.

"Oh, thanks," The owner said. "Hmm?" The owner hummed as he actually stared up from his puzzle to look at Ren. "Oh, right." The man realized why Ren was here. "They did say that was today."

"We'll be going now," said the elderly man. "The payment's on the table."

"Thanks for coming," The owner said.

"This place is in the back alley, so there's no worries of a car crashing in here." said the elderly man.

"A what now?" The shopkeeper rose an eyebrow.

"There's been a string of those rampage accidents, you know." The elderly man informed. "I just hope that none happen around here."

"It's none of my concern," said the owner.

"Haha, we'll see you next time," the elderly man said as he and his wife took their leave and left the shop.

The owner sighed loudly. "Four hours for just a single cup of joe." He looked directly at Ren. "So, you're Ren?"

"Yes," Ren nodded. "Ren Amamiya. Please take care of me."

"Uh-huh," The owner said with his eyes widened in surprise. "I'm Sojiro Sakura. You'll be in my custody over the next year. I was wondering what kind of unruly kid would show up, but you're the one, huh?"

"Seems so," Ren answered, hands in his pockets.

"Have you been told?" Sojiro said. "A customer of mine and your parents know each other and-" he paused. "Not that that matters. Follow me." Sojiro led Ren to the upstairs of the Cafe. The upper was an attic that had an assortment of items stored up there. "This is your room. I'll at least give you sheets for your bed." He stared at Ren as the youth eyes wandered about the room. "You look like you wanna say something."

"It's big," Ren answered. "But it also looks pretty cluttered though."

"It's on you to clean up the rest," Sojiro told him. "I'll be leaving after I lock up each day. You'll be alone at night, but don't do anything stupid. I'll throw you out if you cause any trouble."

"Understood," Ren nodded his head.

"Now then..." the older man continued. "I got the gist of your situation. You protected some woman from a man forcing himself on her, he got injured, then sued you. Right?"

Ren let out a short sigh. "Yes."

"That's what you get for sticking your nose in a matter between two adults," said Sojiro. "You did injure him, yeah? And now that you got a criminal record, you were expelled from your high school. The courts ordered you to transfer and move out here, which your parents also approved." Sojiro gave a smirk. "In other words, they got rid of you for being a pain in the ass."

Ren didn't answer Sojiro and only looked at the ground. _"Laying it on a little thick there, huh?"_

"It's best you not talk about anything unnecessary," Sojiro said. "I am in the restaurant business, you know. Behave yourself for the year. If nothing happens, your probation will be lifted."

"Probation?" Ren repeated.

"Really now?" Sojiro said in exasperation. "It's the word that applies to you. Your sentence lasts until next spring, right? That's why you're gonna be here the coming year. Cause any problems and you'll be sent straight to juvie. We'll be going to Shujin tomorrow."

"Shujin?" Ren repeated once more in confusion.

"Shujin Academy-the school you'll be attending," Sojiro informed once again with an irritated look. He swore Ren was doing this just to piss him off. "We'll introduce ourselves properly to the staff there. There's rarely a place that'll accept someone like you, you know. What a waste of my Sunday..."

Ren wondered if he should say sorry to the man. He was risking a lot letting him stay in own shop. But instead, he decided to just keep quiet.

"Your 'luggage' arrived earlier; I left them over there," Sojiro said gesturing over to a big box on the floor. With that, Sojiro decided to head back downstairs to tend to his coffee shop.

The first thing Ren decided to do was to change into some casual clothes. It consisted of a black jacket, a white t-shirt with a black collar, a pair of blue jeans and some brown shoes.

"The place looks pretty messy; so I guess I'll start cleaning it since I'll be staying here for the time being," Ren said to himself and then began to clean up the attic.

**-O-**

**Day: Saturday - Date: 4/9/20XX - Time of Day: After School - Weather Cloudy - Location: Shujin Academy**

All classes have now ended for the day at Shujin Academy. Hiro stepped out of his classroom, class 3-C, as other students exited out of it. Hiro stretched his arms over his head and also craned his neck.

He was about to start on his way back home until he caught sight of a familiar face. It was a girl that was his age. She had brown hair that was in a bob style with blunt bangs, a french-braid styled headband that matches her hair color and reddish-brown eyes. Her school uniform was altered. Instead of a blazer, she wears a black halter vest over a long sleeve white shirt with a turtleneck, she even wears the standard plaid skirt, black pantyhose, and black ankle boots.

Hiro immediately recognized this person. It was Makoto Niijima, Hiro's old childhood friend that he hasn't spoken to in a while. He wondered now would be the time to change that since they haven't spent time together since they were younger.

First, he made eye contact with her. She had her school bag around her shoulder as she walked up to him as she stopped in front of him.

"Hey, Makoto," Hiro said.

"Hello, Hiro," Makoto responded.

"So... it's been a while, hasn't it?" Hiro asked a bit awkwardly.

"Yes, it has," Makoto nodded. "Well, see you around." Makoto walked past him and started walking away.

"Hey, wait, hold on..." Hiro said stopping her in her tracks. "That's it? I know we haven't spoken in a bit but talk about the cold shoulder." Makoto turned around. Her face with a look of surprise until it finally turned into a small smile.

"Right," she sighed still keeping her smile. "Sorry. I'm a bit in a hurry. I have to go to the Student Council room. We're going to hold a meeting right now."

"Mind if I walk with you on the way there?" Hiro asked. "I don't have to be home yet, though, I do have to go pick up Hamuko from school."

"Oh?" Makoto mouthed. "How is Hamuko? It's been a while since I've seen her."

"Yeah," Hiro smiled. "She just turned nine. Which puts her in the 3rd Grade now."

"That's great," Makoto smiled. "Too bad I can't come with you when you go pick her up from her school." Hiro and Makoto started walking up the stairs to the student council room.

"Since my Dad's at work all the time, I have to look after her ever since my Mom past," Hiro said downcasting his eyes frowning. Makoto hummed quietly as she gave Hiro a sad look. "But it's not all that bad." Hiro's frown turned back into a smile. "I'm just glad I can be there for my kid sister."

Makoto smiled once more until she remembered. "That reminds me, I haven't talked to Aki-san in a while. How's your Father?"

"Dad's good," Hiro told her. "He's still working with the Tokyo Police. As a Detective. It's a good job for him. He's got quite the sharp eye. But he's doing his best to take care of me and Hamuko."

"I'm glad to hear he's doing well," Makoto said. "He was like an uncle to me and Sis since he and my Dad were close friends."

"Ah, your Dad was a good man," Hiro said. "I... I'm sure you miss him still."

"Yeah..." It was now Makoto's turn to be quiet. Hiro started to wonder if he made the wrong move to talk about Makoto's Dad and went to change the subject.

"So, did you know?" asked Hiro. "My Dad tells me he's working with your Sister on a case right now."

"I didn't know that," Makoto answered. "Sis doesn't want me getting involved with her work and believes I should devote my time to my studies."

"That so?" Hiro said. "Gee, Sae, is that all she is to you?" Hiro muttered under his breath.

"Huh?" Makoto said staring at Hiro. "What did you say?"

"Nothing," Hiro said waving his hand. They arrived at the Student Council, stopping in front of the room. "And here we are. Been a while since we just talked like this, hasn't it?"

"It really has," Makoto smiled. "We should talk again assuming neither of us is busy."

"Yeah, even though I'm not doing volleyball anymore I'm still going to get busy since I'm also focusing on studying for college entrance exams," Hiro said.

"So it is true," Makoto figured. "About you quitting volleyball..."

"Yep, it's true," Hiro stated. "I have absolutely nothing to hide."

"I wasn't judging you..." Makoto said. "I heard that Mr. Kamoshida is very disappointed about you quitting the team almost everybody at Shujin is talking about it."

"Well, they can say whatever they want," Hiro expressed. "I'm not gonna deny that I quit." Hiro pulled out his phone to check the time. "Ah, I have to go get Hamuko from her school. I'll see to you later, yeah?"

"By the way, you busy tomorrow?" Makoto asked.

"Not really," Hiro said. "Tomorrow's Sunday but why do you ask?"

"I was only asking since I was wondering if you could stop by with Hamuko for a bit since it has been a while," Makoto suggested. "I'll be here tomorrow doing some Student Council work."

"I don't mind, sure," Hiro said. "I'll let you know when we get here tomorrow." Hiro then realized. "Oh, wait a second. We don't have each other's info anymore, do we?"

"Oh, I didn't comprehend that," Makoto said wide-eyed. "Let's exchange info then." She pulled her out her phone. Hiro pulled out his own smartphone that had a black and white checkered design. Their phone's made a small 'ping' sound notifying them about their sent info.

"Nice," Hiro nodded with a smile. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Of course," Makoto said with a matching smile. Hiro waved bye to Makoto and started making his way down the stairs. As he was walking he heard a couple of students talking to each other.

"Hey, was Nakamura-senpai just talking to the class prez?" the first one mentioned.

"Didn't you know?" his friend answered. "I heard from someone that they used to be friends when they were kids but that ain't anything to talk about. The real news is that Nakamura-senpai quit the volleyball team."

"Seriously...?" the other one said.

"Yep," nodded the student. "Rumor has it he and Kamoshida got into arguments all the time during volleyball practice. I heard the last one got so heated they were almost close to fighting."

"Really? So what you're saying is that Nakamura was close to 'pulling a Sakamoto'?"

"Pretty much and most of the volleyball team are avoiding him and treating him like he's the plague." As Hiro was walking he couldn't help but roll his eyes at how wrong they were about the whole thing.

_'Good grief,' _Hiro thought. '_Doesn't anybody have anything better to do but spread rumors? 'Welcome to Shujin Academy: where rumors are the most important thing. We don't care as long as their not about us.' _he thought irritably as he gathered his shoes from his shoe locker and left the school.

**-O-**

Ren stood in the middle of the attic and admired his handy work in finishing the cleaning of his new "room". He's been cleaning for a while and he wanted to make sure it was spotless. He mopped the floor, he dusted the window sill, put his sheets on the bed and lastly placed his box of belongings on one of the lower parts of the shelf.

"Okay, all done," Ren thought proudly. "I think I did pretty good if I do say so myself." Sojiro finally went upstairs to see what Ren was up to.

"What the heck? I heard you making all sorts of noise up here but I didn't think you were cleaning." Sojiro said as he looked around, checking out how nice a job Ren did. "Actually, the place doesn't look too bad." He smirked as Ren couldn't help but feel a bit prideful. "Though it's only natural you want to keep your room tidy. Why don't you go to bed for tonight? You don't have anything better to be doing, right?"

"Not particularly, no," Ren said shaking his head.

"I'm going to close up shop and get out of her myself," Sojiro stated. "I won't be the one looking after you if you get sick from staying up too late, you got that?"

"Of course," Ren replied with a nod showing he understood. "Night."

"Hmm," was Sojiro's only response as he turned around and went downstairs and left the cafe. Ren decided to change into his sleepwear and head to bed. Ren laid down on the single bed, his hands resting behind his head. As he was only staring up at the ceiling, he was quickly brought back to that night he was arrested.

"Still, I couldn't let that go..." Ren expressed in his thoughts. As he was brought back to thinking about that night.

_[Flashback]_

_"I had to go home early..." _

_Ren was walking in the street at night in his hometown neighborhood. As he was moving along, he then heard what he assumed was people arguing. _

_"Just get in the car!" _

_"Stop it!"_

_Ren turned around a corner and heard the voices more clearly. He quickly realized it was a man and woman arguing in the distance. They were just up ahead of him. Ren picked up the pace and started to run toward the commotion._

_"How dare you cross me!" _

_"Stop it! Let me go!"_

_Sure enough, Ren saw the woman struggling in a bald man's grasp. The man sounded like he were drunk and was slurring his words. _

_"No...!" the woman said trying to fight back._

_"Don't give me that shit..." the man uttered. _

_"Ow!" the woman winced in pain from how hard the man was holding her. "P-Please, stop...!"_

_Ren realized the woman was in absolute despair and decided that he had to help her. What kind of person would he be if he were to just walk away from _this?

_"I can't ignore this..." Ren thought with conviction. "I have to save her."_

_Tch... what a waste of time," the man grunted. "You think you're worth causing me trouble? Huh?" _

_"I'll call the police!" the woman quickly said as she continued trying to get away. _

_"Heh, call them if you want!" the drunk man spat. "The police are my bitches. They're not gonna take you seriously."_

_"No... Stop...!" she yelled. A few blocks from their location, police sirens were heard. _

_"Someone called the cops, huh?" the man assumed. "Get in the car! Incompetent fools like you just need to shut your mouths and follow where I steer this country!" The man and the woman noticed standing not too far away from them. "What are you looking at? Get outta my face!"_

_"What are you trying to do her?" Ren spoke. "Leave her alone!"_

_"This ain't a show," the man spoke back. "Get lost, kid." The man turned to face Ren, staring at him through his orange-tinted glasses. "See? This is all because you're so damn slow!" he yelled back at the woman. "Get in the car!"_

_[End Flashback]_

Ren couldn't help but feel angry remembering that night. He closed his eyes exhaling out of his nose to try to calm himself. His phone alert went off in his pocket. He pulled it out to check if he got a message. But instead, it was that same app with eyeball icon that appeared on his phone suddenly.

"What the heck...?" thought Ren with confusion. "I thought I deleted it..." Ren once again dragged the strange icon to recycle believing he finally got rid of it. Ren felt his eyelids start to get heavy and started to nod off to sleep.

What was strange was that as soon as he fell asleep he woke up. Oddly enough, he wasn't in Leblanc's attic anymore. He heard a pair of chains swinging and occasionally clanging against each other, he heard the sound of dripping water, he sat from where he was lying down and noticed his outfit. He was wearing a prison outfit and had handcuffs placed on his wrist. He placed his feet on the floor and put a hand on his head.

_"Where am I...?"_ Ren thought. _"Am I dreaming?"_

"Hahahaha..." He heard laughter from outside the room he was in which was a jail cell. He turned his head over to where he heard the laughter. He saw two young girls make their appearance known to him. Ren stood up and faced toward them and noticed something different about them.

They looked the same in the face, Twin's he put together. They wore matching blue outfits, platinum-colored hair, they wore similar eyepatches. The one on the left had her patch on her left eye, and the other one on the right had her patch on her right eye. Ren tried to walk up to them but something almost stops him from moving. He had a ball and chain to his left leg. Ren managed to step to the bars of the jail cell.

He grabbed hold of the bars as the girls' turned around and showing there was someone else behind them. Ren's eyes widened seeing that person was a man with a large smile, wide bloodshot eyes, and an impossibly long nose. He brought up his head to make eye contact with Ren and held out his hand.

"Trickster... Welcome to my Velvet Room."

* * *

**I'm back! Did you miss me? No? Okay, that's fine.**

**Anyway, I hope everyone liked it enough even though this is only chapter one. A new thing I'm going to try with this is also showing Ren's side of things. That way I'm not just solely focusing on Hiro. I already know, we all played Persona 5 so obviously, we know how what the Ren is already doing but I also did it to also remind people what story you're reading. **

**And I've already written like 6 chapters just so I can know what direction I want to take with it. Took a lot of work but I got figured out. I was going to make 10 chapters but I decided to post it and get over with.**

**Please Follow/Favorite or review if you want. Or not, the choice is yours. I'd love to hear what you all think about the direction I'm taking with this. I'm gonna be uploading on Saturday's and maybe another day, depends how I'm feeling.**

**That's all for now.**

**I'll see you guys next time.**

**Later!**


	2. Welcome to Shujin

**I do not own Persona**

**It is owned by Atlus**

**I just own my OC's**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Persona 5: A Wolf's Strength Pt.2**

* * *

**[Persona 5 OST: Hymn of the Soul]**

"What the...!?" Ren wondered as he grasped the bars of the cell he was in. He didn't understand what was even going on. Why was he in a jail cell? Who were these two young twin's dressed as wardens? And who was that bizarre-looking man? Several questions just like that ran through Ren's mind.

"So you've come to, inmate," said the twin on the right with unimpressed tone of voice.

"The you, in reality, is currently fast asleep," the left twin spoke in a more polite way than her other half. "You are only experiencing this as a dream."

"You're in the presence of our master," the angry twin on the right stated. "Stand up straight!"

"Master...?" Ren wondered what she meant and finally turned his gaze on the bizarre-looking man.

"Welcome," the man greeted in deep, chilling yet calm voice. "I am delighted to make your acquaintance. The place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. It is a room that only those who are bound by a 'contract' may enter."

_'Contract?'_ Ren thought as he still kept a hold on the cell's bars.

"I am Igor, the master of this place," Igor introduced while gently tapping his fingers on his desk. "Remember it well. I summoned you to speak of important matters. It involves your life as well."

"I don't care what you have to say!" Ren yelled as he tried his hardest to pull the bars but wasn't able to. "Let me out of here now!"

"Know your place, Inmate!" the more angered twin ordered as she struck the cage bars with her stun baton. Her baton gave off an electric shock as it impacted with the bars which startled Ren causing him to back away. "Who do you think you're talking to!?"

"Still this is a surprise..." Igor vocalized his amusement. "The state of this room reflects the state of your own heart. To think a prison would appear as such. You truly are a 'prisoner' of fate. In the near future, there is no mistake that ruin awaits you."

"Are you kidding me?" Ren asked glaring. He still had no idea why he was even in this place. He just wanted out of this cell. He continued struggling to pull the bars in order to get free.

"Haha, worry not," Igor amusingly laughed at Ren's response. "There is a means to oppose such a fate. You must be 'rehabilitated.' Rehabilitated toward freedom. That is our only means to avoid ruin... Do you have the resolve to challenge the distortion of the world?"

"Well... when you put it that way, I'd rather avoid ruin," Ren said.

"Allow me to observe the path of your rehabilitation," Igor noted. The twin's turned to face Ren. "Ah, pardon me for not introducing the others. To your right is Caroline; to your left, Justine. They serve as wardens here."

"Hmph, try and struggle as hard as you like," Caroline threatened.

"The duty of warden's is to protect inmates," Justine added. "We are also your collaborators. That is, if you remain obedient." Justine doing her best to sound serious similar to her twin.

"I shall explain the roles of these two at another occasion," Igor said. "Now then, it seems the night is waning... It is almost time. Take your time to slowly come to understand this place. We will surely meet again, eventually..."

From inside Ren's cell, a loud bell started to ring. Ren let go of the bars and looked to where the noise was coming from.

"Time's up," Caroline stated. "Now, hurry up and go back to sleep."

**-O-**

**Date: 4/10/20XX - Day: Sunday - Time of day: Early Morning -**** Weather: Cloudy - Location: Leblanc Attic**

Ren awoke as his eyes snapped open. He was still thinking of that weird dream. When he was in that 'Velvet Room'? He remembered that's what Igor called the place. As much as he tried to forget about it, he just couldn't and was still trying to wrap his head around it. He put on his Shujin Academy uniform and sat on the bed but his thoughts kept bringing him back to thinking about the Velvet Room.

'What did he mean by ruin and rehabilitation?" Ren thought as he kept trying to make sense of it all. He felt like his brain was going to explode if he thought about it anymore.

"Looks like you're up," Sojiro's voice broke him from his thoughts. What Ren found a little amusing was the fact that Sojiro was wearing a white fedora. He had to admit, the older man fit it well so he didn't want to offend if he commented that if that hat was his 'picking up woman hat'. "Well then, let's go introduce ourselves properly to the staff about your transfer. The school you're transferring to is in the Aoyama district. It cost a bit to ride the train there, and the route transfers are a pain. I'll drive you there, but just for today. Let's go."

Sojiro turned and walked away. "Sheesh..." he sighed. "Men aren't usually allowed in my passenger seat."

'Yeah,' thought Ren. 'Something tell's me Sakura-san is quite the player.'

**-O-**

Sojiro drove Ren to Shujin Academy in his yellow Volkswagen. They parked next to a sidewalk and made their up to the school's gate. The school was a large grey building, a clock on the right side of the building, and a plaque next to the gate that read: Shujin Academy. Sojiro and Ren stopped next to the gate.

"Do me a favor and behave yourself all right?" Sojiro pleaded. "Don't get me wrong, I don't care what happens to you. Just don't cause me any trouble."

"Yeah, okay," Ren nodded in understanding. Though, he couldn't help feel little bad for placing some weight on the older man's shoulders even though he's being mean about it. "I promise I won't cause any trouble."

"Hmph," Sojiro huffed and then walked away as Ren followed him inside the school.

**-O-**

Hiro and Hamuko were walking through the halls of Shujin. Even though it was a Sunday, Hiro was wearing his school uniform and Hamuko was in her casual clothes(Her outfit from chapter 1). They walked up the stairs started on their way toward the Student Council room

"Pretty cool to visit a high school, huh, kiddo?" Hiro asked. "Even though it's a Sunday."

"Yeah," Hamuko nodded to her big brother. "Is it really okay for me to be here?"

"Yeah, it should be fine," Hiro said. "It's Sunday. Plus, Makoto said she'll be here today, she messaged me this morning. She said she wanted to see you. Don't you want to see her?"

"Yes," Hamuko nodded with a smile. "Yes, I really do."

"Well, okay then," Hiro smiled back at his kid sister. "Well, here it is." Hiro gestured to the Student Council room door. He rapped on the door a few times. After waiting for a little bit, Makoto answered the door seeing Hiro and Hamuko.

"Hello, it's us," Hiro waved with a smile.

"Glad you can make it," Makoto said. Makoto was soon met with Hamuko quickly running up and wrapping her arms around Makoto's waist in a hug.

"Mako-san!" Hamuko said happily. "I haven't seen you in forever."

"Three years can really feel like forever," Makoto giggled as she hugged the young girl back. "It's very nice to see you again, Hamuko-chan."

Hiro kept silent watching the scene unfold. The day Hamuko was born, Makoto immediately loved her. She probably saw Hamuko like a little sister since it was only her and Sae when they were growing up and not having a younger sibling of her own.

"Here, let's talk inside," Makoto proposed. "It'd be better since the teachers are also here right now."

"Sure," Hiro said as everyone went inside the Student Council room. "So, it really is just you in here today, huh?"

"Yes," Makoto nodded. "I thought I'd try to last get some work done today on Sunday." Makoto bent down to Hamuko's level, placing her hands on her knees. "Hamuko, how old are you now? Are you nine now?"

"I sure am," Hamuko grinned. "I'm a big girl."

"I'm sure you are," Makoto smiled back at her. "How's school? Do you like it?"

"Yep," Hamuko said. "It's easy."

"You say that now but wait until you get into middle school and high school," Makoto said.

"Actually, Hamuko is very smart," Hiro smirked. "She's one of the brightest in her class."

"Oh, really?" Makoto said and smiled back down at Hamuko. "Then I guess I don't need to worry at all, huh?"

"Nope," Hamuko shook her head. "I still don't like doing homework though."

"It's very important that you do it," Makoto said. "Especially once you reach middle school. You shouldn't worry too much since you'll have your big brother here to help you. Right, Hiro?" Makoto gave Hiro a knowing smirk.

"Uh yeah, of course..." Hiro stammered with a look of surprise as he nervously clutched his scarf.

"Well, then..." Makoto said. "I need to finish up my work right now..."

"Right," Hiro nodded his head. "Then we should get going. Time to go, Hamuko."

"Okay," Hamuko nodded. "Bye, Makoto," Makoto responded by rubbing Hamuko on her head with a smile. "You should come to visit our house. Can you?"

"Well, I've been a bit busy but maybe if I get the time to do so," Makoto smiled. "That okay?"

"Hmhm," Hamuko hummed happily as she and Hiro walked outside the student council room. and stared up at her brother. "Hey big brother, can I go get a drink?"

"All right," Hiro said. "There should a vending machine down the stairs that way."

"Okay," Hamuko said and then quickly ran off toward the stairs.

"Hey, wait, hold on kiddo!" Hiro shouted after her. Hiro stared at Makoto and gave her a shrug. Makoto smiled amusingly while shaking her head. "Though, like most kids, she can be a little impatient. But she's a good kid and she's even responsible. That's why Dad let her have her own cell phone."

"That's surprising," Makoto said and then coughed into her hand. "Shouldn't you go after her?" she recommended slowly.

"Oh crap, yeah," Hiro said. "Gotta go, Mako. I'll see you at school."

"You haven't called me that name in a while," Makoto said as Hiro stopped to turn back to her.

"Well, then I guess start calling you that again if that's okay," Hiro said. "By the way, we should spend time together. Maybe we can get lunch?"

"I'd like that," Makoto smiled. Hiro smiled back and then ran off to go catch up with his sister.

**-O-**

Ren and Sojiro were in the Principal's office and properly introduced themselves. Principal Kobayakawa was an obese man, his own neck fat easily fell over his own collar. Ren fought the urge to laugh at the man since he kinda resembled 'Humpty-dumpty'. Inside the office as well as a woman that was a woman in her late 20's. She had dark brown hair, she wore a long-sleeved yellow top and a blue denim skirt. Ren acknowledged that the woman was quite attractive though she looked a little tired, probably due to stress.

"To reiterate, just so we're clear, you will be expelled immediately if you cause any problems," Kobayakawa spoke sternly.

_'Geez, I already knew that,'_ Ren mentally said in irritation.

"Yessir," Ren nodded in understanding.

"Honestly, I hesitated on accepting someone like you, but there were some circumstances on our side..." Kobayakawa informed. "You might've done a variety of things in hiding in your hometown, but you will behave yourself here. If you are thrown out from our school, there will be no place for you to go. Keep that in mind."

Ren nodded his head. _'Seriously? I should just start counting down how many times someone reminds me to not screw up.'_

"This is the teacher in charge of your class," Kobayakawa gestured to the woman next to him.

"I'm Sadayo Kawakami," the woman introduced herself. "Here's your student ID." she placed it on the principal's desk for Ren to take it from there. "Be sure to read the school rules. Any violations will send you straight to the guidance office. And, if by chance you cause any problems, I won't be able to protect you at all."

_'Strike one!'_ Ren thought sarcastically. _'Off to a great start.'_

"That IS your promise, yes, Principal Kobayakawa?" Kawakami asked.

"He is responsible for all his actions," Kobayakawa said.

"But really though, why me...?" protested Kawakami. "There should've been better candidates."

"It was a sudden transfer, and your class was the only one that had an opening," Kobayakawa explained.

"If you're done explaining things, mind if we get going?" Sojiro interjected. "I got a store to get back to."

"Sakura-san, please keep a close eye on him," Kobayakawa reminded Sojiro. "Don't let him cause any trouble..."

_'Strike two!'_ Ren remarked in thought.

"Well, I'll be sure to have a serious talk about the situation he's in," Sojiro answered.

Kawakami let out a short sigh. "Come to the faculty when you arrive at school tomorrow. I'll show you to your classroom."

"Yes, ma'am," Ren said giving a nod.

**-O-**

**Date: 4/10/20XX - Day: Sunday - Time of day: Daytime - Weather: Cloudy - Location: Shujin, Main Hall**

As Ren and Sojiro walked out they were on their way to the entrance of the school. Sojiro sighed irritably while rubbing the back of his head.

"They're treating you like some kind of nuisance..." Sojiro said. "I guess that's what it means to have a criminal record. Turn's out your past follows you wherever you go. By the way... if you get expelled now, I won't hesitate to kick you out. Got it?"

_'Strike three! You're out!'_ Ren remarked in thought once more.

"I understand," Ren said as he twirled one of his dark bangs. "I'll be careful."

"Hmph," Sojiro huffed softly and then looked around the main hall of Shujin. "School never changes, huh...?" he sighed. "Come on, we're going home."

"Okay," Ren said he looked down the hall and noticed a vending machine. "Um, can you wait a moment, I'd like to go get a drink if that's alright."

"Well... I guess that's fine," Sojiro said. "Just hurry it up. I'd like to get back to my store before it gets dark."

"I'll be quick," Ren nodded and started walking down to the vending machine. As he was on his way down there, he spotted another young man dressed in a school uniform like himself and he was talking to a young girl that looked too young to be a student.

He noticed the young man in the uniform had silvery-white hair. He wondered if he had dyed it like that or if he was born that way and also wore a bandana around his neck. Ren got close to the young man and girl that was with him.

"Don't run off like that again, all right," said the bandana-wearing student. "I don't want Dad getting mad at me for losing you."

"I know bro, I'm sorry," the girl said. The student smiled and patted her on the head.

"I know," the bandana-wearing student stated with a smile. "Be a bit more mindful." He finally noticed Ren staring at them.

"Oh, sorry," Ren said. "I didn't mean to interrupt."

"No, it's fine," said the bandana-wearing boy. "Don't worry about it. Are you a student?"

"Yeah," Ren answered. "But I actually start tomorrow."

"Transfer student then," the bandana-wearing boy nodded. "Welcome to Shujin. I'm Yasuhiro Nakamura. A Third-year student. Call me Hiro if you want, I don't mind."

"Amamiya," Ren introduced. "Ren Amamiya. Second-year. Nice to meet you, Senpai."

"Likewise," Hiro nodded as he shook Ren's hand.

"I didn't know they allowed kids here?" Ren wondered as he looked at Hamuko.

"She isn't a student here," Hiro said. "This is my little sister. Say hi, Hamuko."

"Hi," Hamuko gave a small wave.

"Hello," Ren said giving a small smile.

"We were here visiting a friend real quick," Hiro said. "Sorry, were you going to use the vending machine? If it's okay, let me buy your drink for you. Is TaP alright?"

"I could do that," Ren offered. "You don't need to go through the trouble."

"Please, allow me," Hiro said. "We were gonna get some drinks anyway." Hiro inserted his Yen into the machine and gathered the three drinks in his hands. "Here you go." He handed one to Ren, one to Hamuko, and kept the last one for himself.

"Thank you, Senpai," Ren said.

"No problem," Hiro said. "Think of it as another way of saying 'welcome to our school'."

"Okay," Ren said. "I have to go. My guardian is waiting. I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Sure thing," Hiro smiled as Ren nodded and walked away.

'Well, I guess Shujin won't be that bad if the people are nice like that," Ren thought with a smile as he walked outside the entrance with Sojiro waiting for him.

"What took so long?" Sojiro asked him irritably. "Never mind that. Let's go."

"Right behind you," Ren said as he followed behind Sakura.

**-O-**

In the courtyard of Shujin Academy, Ms. Kawakami was meeting with one of her co-workers. He was very tall, he wore a tight-fitting white t-shirt that showed off his muscular form, black track pants with white stripes on either side and white shoes. His hair was black and was in a curly style. Everyone at Shujin Academy knew this man as Suguru Kamoshida, the coach of the Volleyball team for the school.

"What a troublesome situation," Kamoshida said.

I can't believe they pushed someone with a record on me," Kawakami moped. "A male teacher would be better suited for this..."

"Why in the world was someone like that admitted here?" Kamoshida wondered as he placed his hands on his hips.

"Who knows?" Kawakami wondered herself. "It was the principal's decision. I was told that it was for the school's reputation."

"I would've thought that my volleyball team has contributed more than enough to cover that," Kamoshida commented.

"That's certainly true," Kawakami agreed.

"Be careful, OK?" Kamoshida warned while stretching his arm. "Then again, if anything were to happen, I'd kick out a student like that right away."

"I keep wishing that he'd just end up not coming to school though," Kawakami stated while rubbing the back of her head. "Still, that isn't something I should be saying as a teacher..."

"Well, I should be returning to practice," Kamoshida announced.

"Oh right, the tournament's coming up, isn't it?" Kawakami realized.

"Hehe, having such high expectations placed upon you by others is quite a problem itself," Kamoshida grinned proudly. "It'll be tough since one of my players decided to drop the team. We'll have to work hard to make up for the track team too."

"Yes... that's true," Kawakami sighed. With that, Kamoshida walked away back toward the gym. "Why did it have to be my class...?" Kawakami asked herself once again.

**-O-**

Ren was sitting in the passenger of Sojiro's car. The older man was irritated as he was dealing with the sudden traffic on their way back to his shop.

"Traffic's not moving at all..." He grunted irritably. "You're taking the train starting tomorrow."

"Okay," Ren said.

"So how was it?" Sojiro asked. "The school, I mean. Think you can manage?"

"Yeah, it seems fun," Ren said trying his best to hide the sarcasm in his voice.

Sojiro only gave Ren a sigh. "Do you even understand you're situation...? Still, you were expelled once already. To think you'd re-enroll at a different one. It's not like anyone will be sympathetic with you. If that's what it was like at school, people might say stuff about me in the future too. What a troublesome kid I've taken in..."

"Uh, if you don't mind me asking...?" Ren wanted to know. "Why did you take me in? You could've said no if you wanted to, but you didn't. Why?"

"I was asked to do it, and I just... happened to agree to it," Sojiro answered him. "I've already been paid for it too, after all."

_'So he did it only for the money...?'_ Ren thought. _'Guess I can't blame the guy. I mean, heck, the guy placed me in his own shop.'_

"Again, a subway has derailed at Shibuya Station, greatly affecting the timetable all across the-" Sojiro cut the radio off and sighed.

"Another accident?" Sojiro said. "So that's why it's so crowded. There's been a lot of those lately."

**-O-**

**Date: 4/10/20XX - Day: Sunday - Time of day: Evening - Weather Cloudy - Location: SIU Office**

Sae Niijima and the SIU director were watching the news report in the director's office. It was about the recent subway accident that caused several people to lose their lives.

"It's less of an operating accident and more than of crime of a company and a government," the director noted. "Sight inspectors apparently sighted this six months ago. The deterioration of the tracks and the ATC. Seems a railway company and the Ministry of Transport both turned a blind eye to the truth. There's no way they can hide. This will go all the way to the top." Sae never said a word, she kept her focus on the television screen. "Everything's linked? That's what you're thinking, correct?" The director smirked. "Ah well. Are you free? You and I haven't gone for a drink in a while?"

"Thank you, sir, but I have another meeting to attend," Sae declined politely as he gave a bow and took her leave from his office.

**-O-**

Akitoshi Nakamura walked into the SIU building, he had a hand in his pocket as he adjusted his tie. He checked his smartphone for the time. His cell phone's background was a picture of Hiro and Hamuko. She was sitting on Hiro's shoulders as he was holding her by her thighs, both of them smiling happily. The picture brought a smile to Akitoshi's face. He was so preoccupied in looking at it, he didn't notice someone creeping up behind him.

"Are those your children, Nakamura-san?" asked a polite voice.

"What the-!?" Akitoshi quickly became startled as he turned around quickly and was met with the face of a young man. He had long brown hair that came to shoulders, a grey suit jacket which was apart of his school uniform, he even wore black gloves on his hands. Akitoshi relaxed realizing who it was. It was Goro Akechi, Tokyo's own 'Detective Prince'. At least that's what they call him on TV. "For crying out loud, Akechi-kun. Don't do that ever again."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Akechi's face seemed to fall, feeling bad for startling the older man. "I didn't mean to startle you, sir."

"Eh, don't worry about it," Akitoshi waved it off. "Yeah, those are my children. They're the reason why I joined the police force and a detective. They're all I have left of my late wife. My oldest son is about your age, a Third-year student, too." Akitoshi smirked with a fold of his arms. "Hey, you're not half bad at sneaking up on people, if you decided to become a thief, you'd be pretty good at it."

Akechi gave a small chuckle. "With all due respect, Nakamura-san, I'll stick to being a detective but thank's for the compliment."

"That we can agree on," Akitoshi said as he walked with Akechi moving alongside him. "I'm not surprised Sae called you as well."

"Sae-san asked for me, I don't know if it's about a case or not," Akechi stated. "By the way, have you known her long?"

"Heh," Akitoshi smiled. "I've known her since she was a baby. Her father was a good friend. My best friend." Akitoshi became solemn in his expression.

"Oh, I see," Akechi said sounding sorry for the older detective. Akitoshi and Akechi both waited in silence for Sae to arrive. Akechi was staring at his phone while Akitoshi had his arms folded. Sae was finally arriving down the stairs. Both detectives saw her ascending down the steps.

"Ah, look who it is," Akitoshi said. "Sae-chan." He gave her a nod.

"Aki-san," Sae greeted.

"Did you asked for us?" Akechi asked. "Is it a case?"

"Not quite," Sae answered walking past the both of them. "I want both of your opinions on something."

"About those Psychotic Shutdown's?" Akitoshi brought up. "Victim's suddenly shutting down, Having no memory of what happened or what they did. Just like that conductor of that train incident."

"You've done your homework," Sae noted as she walked stopped walking.

"I wouldn't be a good detective if I didn't," Akitoshi said running his fingers through his dark hair.

"Follow me," she gestured to them. "We'll talk elsewhere."

"Sure," Akechi answered. "Your judgment is quite often correct though. Can we discuss this over sushi, perhaps?" Akechi said eagerly. "You are making a student and a father work late, after all."

"Conveyer belt only," Sae replied as she kept stepping down the rest of the steps.

"Aww," Akechi moaned disappointedly. Akitoshi walked up next to Akechi, patting the young man on the shoulder.

"Don't pout, kid," Akitoshi told him. "Then again, you were coming on a little too strong. Just listen to me and you'll be quite a real charmer when it comes to women. I got a few stories I can tell you that'll knock your socks off. Though, those only are to be told once you're a little older, kid. And I'll have to be drunk."

Akechi gave his senior a look of bewilderment as a light blush dusted his cheeks and tugged on his collar feeling a bit warm.

"I... did not need to hear that," Sae stated as she kept walking.

"Well, time to go," Akitoshi said adjusting his tie. "You wanted sushi, right Akechi-kun? I guess that means dinner is on you, yeah?"

"Yes... I suppose," Akechi said with a short sigh. He followed Akitoshi as he stepped up next to Sae with Akechi following in behind.

"I haven't asked yet," Sae said to Akitoshi. "How are Hiro and Hamuko doing?"

"Been a while since you last spoke to them, huh?" Akitoshi asked. "They're doing fine. Hiro focusing on finishing his Third-year at Shujin and Hamuko is pretty intelligent for her age and doing good in school."

"Hm, good to hear," Sae answered as the three of them left the building.

**-O-**

Due to all the traffic, Ren and Sojiro didn't get back to Leblanc until it got dark. Sojiro was pretty peeved that he didn't get to open up the shop today. Ren felt a little sorry for him. Sojiro told Ren to head upstairs and told him he had something to give him.

"Talk about a gruesome accident..." Sojiro said looking up the accident on his phone. "Eighty people were involved." Sojiro placed his phone in his pocket and pulled a little black notepad. "It's a diary. Make sure you write in it." He tossed the pad on a table. "You may be under probation, but there's no special limitations on what you do in particular. Besides following the law, that is. However, I'm obligated to report on you, which is why I'm having you record your daily activities." Sojiro's cell phone started to ring.

"Hey, what's up?" he answered. "I'm about to leave right now. Don't worry, I'll be there in no time."

_'The way he's talking it sounds like he's got a date lined up,'_ Ren thought. _'I guess it'd be best to not make a comment about that.'_

"Uh-huh. I'll see you soon." Sojiro hung up. "Well, I'm off. I'll lock the place up, so do whatever you want for the rest of the night."

"Alright," Ren nodded.

"Oh, but don't mess up my store," Sojiro sternly reminded. "If something goes missing, I'll hand you right over to the cops. You got school tomorrow, you better head off to bed, all right?" Sojiro then left down the steps leaving Ren on his own. Ren walked up to the table to grab the notebook.

_'It's obvious I'm on very thin ice with Sakura-san,'_ Ren thought. _'I should do as I'm told for now.'_

Ren made the decision to head to bed. He heard ringing that wasn't from his cell phone which was obvious. It sounded like it was coming from downstairs. Ren walked down the stairs and sure enough, the yellow telephone inside Leblanc was ringing. Ren wondered who would be calling at this hour? He supposed he may as well answer it and he hoped Sojiro won't be mad if he said he answered the telephone, Ren grabbed it and put it to his ear.

"Um, hello?" Ren spoke.

**"Yo, it's me,"** the voice responded.

"May I ask who's calling?" Ren inquired.

**"Sheesh, you forgot my voice already? It's Sakura."**

"Oh, sorry about that," Ren apologized. "Honestly, you sound a bit different over the phone."

**"Uh... I closed up shop, but I forgot to flip the sign to CLOSED,"** He explained. **"It's too much of a hassle for me to go back, so you flip the sign for me."**

"Why did you call the public phone in your own shop?" Ren asked. "You could've just called my phone? I'm sure you were given my number."

**"I make it habit not to save guys' phone numbers on my cell phone,"** Sojiro said. **"Anyway, I'm glad you answered the phone over in the shop. OK then, I'm leaving you in charge of the door sign."**

Ren walked outside of Leblanc's door and out into the alley. He flipped the sign from 'OPEN' to 'CLOSED' and went back inside the cafe to get ready for bed since he was starting his first day of school tomorrow. Ren changed into his sleepwear and laid down on the bed, his hand resting behind his head.

He took out his phone and started looking up the directions he had to take to get to Shujin Academy. He saw that he needed to go out to Shibuya, then transfer there. Scrolling through his phone, he found more news about the recent subway accident. Ren assumed that will probably affect the train times. Ren noticed that the same icon that appeared before on his cell phone came back.

'I don't even know what this app even is!?' Ren thought. 'I deleted it twice in a row. Guess I have to do it again.' Ren dragged the app over to the recycle bin once more. 'I should probably reboot my phone, just in case...' Ren felt his eyelids become heavy as sleep soon took him.

**-O-**

**Date: 4/11/20XX - Day: Monday - Time of day: Early Morning - Weather: Cloudy - Location: Leblanc**

Ren woke up the next morning and put on his uniform. Sojiro gave Ren a plate of curry. To Ren, curry's more a dinner food but he couldn't be picky. The spicy, delicious flavor of the curry just made him pretty much wolf down the food quickly. Ren had quite a weakness for spicy foods. He was tempted to ask for more but he had to head to school now. He complimented Sojiro and thanked him for the meal and headed to Shujin Academy. Ren flipped the store sign to open per Sojiro's request and started on his way.

'Alright, I'm in Yongen-Jaya right now...' Ren went over in thought. 'So, my first stop is in Aoyama-Ichtome and then Shibuya. After that, it's a home stretch to Shujin.

**-O-**

Hiro was walking down the street. His Shujin satchel bag hanging across his torso against his hip and clutching the strap in his right hand. He had a pair of earbuds in his ears and was currently listening to some music. He let out a yawn into his hand as his phone vibrated in his pocket. He was surprised to see it was a message from Makoto.

**[Chat IM]**

**[Makoto N.]: Good Morning.**

**[Yasuhiro N.]: Morning. What's up?**

**[Yasuhiro N.]: I didn't think you'd message this morning, Mako. Something wrong?**

**[Makoto N.]: I just thought I'd message you good morning.**

**[Makoto N.]: Nothing's wrong.**

**[Makoto N.]: I'm at the school right now. I come here early to do some early Student Council work.**

**[Yasuhiro N.]: How very diligent of you, Miss Prez :P**

**[Makoto N.]: Oh, come on! Don't tease me...**

**[Yasuhiro N.]: I know, I know. I'm just kidding around ;)**

**[Yasuhiro N.]: I'm almost at school. If you have time we could talk more in person there before classes start.**

**[Makoto N.]: That's fine. I could use a break. I've been at it since early this morning.**

**[Yasuhiro N.]: Alright. I'll be there soon. See ya.**

He put his phone in his pocket and kept walking down the street. He believed he should hurry to school since it started to rain. On his way down, a silver car passed by him. He knew exactly who that car belonged to. Especially when he read the license plate. 'KNGKMSD'. Hiro took his earphone's out his ears and glared. Memories started flooding back to him when Hiro was on the volleyball team. Hiro clenched his bag tightly as he remembered all that he endured over those two years on the team.

_'Kamoshida,'_ Hiro thought angrily. He was clenching his fist so tight that his knuckles were turning white. As he was only standing there, someone ran right past him in a hurry. The person had gold-yellow hair that was in a faux style. Hiro immediately recognized who that was._ 'Sakamoto?'_

**-O-**

Ren took shelter from the rain as he stood under a store called "Jeunesse et Beaute". He leaned against it as he saw other Shujin students run past him, trying to get out of the rain. He brought his attention back down to his phone and noticed the strange app he deleted again last night had returned.

'Seriously... again?' thought Ren. Before he had a chance to get rid of it once more someone joined him under the store. He could see that the person was female as Ren observed her outfit. She wore brown boots and red tights, he could see the Shujin Academy girl's skirt, she wore a varsity zip-up hoodie under her own blazer. Her whole uniform was upgraded to her liking. She was flicking the water off her sleeve as Ren watched her. Her hood was over her head as she took hold of it and took it off.

Ren's eyes widened as she was revealed to him. Her hair was an ash-blonde color. She had two bushy pigtails. Ren saw her ocean blue eyes and her skin was a light color. He couldn't help but think this girl was rather beautiful.

_'So, there are beauties like this at Shujin too,'_ Ren thought as he was still staring. It took the girl a few seconds to realize Ren was staring at her. Ren started to wonder if he made a bad move in staring for way too long. But to his surprise, the girl gave him a small smile.

"Good morning," the girl greeted.

"Oh uh, morning," Ren smiled back.

"Are you new to Shujin?" she asked him as she looked at his uniform. "You must be new because I've never seen you before."

"Yes, I am," Ren nodded. "I'm going there starting today. My name's Ren. Ren Amamiya."

"My name's Ann," the girl introduced. "Ann Takamaki. Nice to meet you, Amamiya-kun." she extends her hand for a handshake.

Ren took her hand and shook back. "You too, Takamaki-san."

"Let's do our best, yeah?" Ann said happily.

"Yeah, sure," Ren said keeping his smile. Their exchange ended when a silver car pulled up to the sidewalk with the two noticing it. The car's window opened up to reveal a man with a long chin and big, curly hair. He was wearing a blue tracksuit.

"Good morning, Takamaki," The man addressed Ann. "You want me to give you a ride to school? You're gonna be late."

"Um, sure, thank you," Ann said with her smile as she walked away she gave Ren one last look. "It was nice meeting you."

"You too," Ren replied. The man in the car noticed Ren as Ann got inside the car.

"Do you need a lift too?" The man asked Ren.

"No thank you," Ren said waving off the invitation. The man started closing the car window but before it closed he noticed a look of sadness in Ann's eyes. The sound of footsteps is soon heard when a boy ran past Ren and stared at the car driving off.

"Damn it!" the boy growled angrily. "Screw that pervy teacher!"

"Pervy teacher?" Ren repeated in confusion. He didn't notice his phone recorded his own voice with the weird app that kept appearing.

"Huh?" the boy turned to Ren. He looked to be Ren's age, his hair was dyed gold yellow and styled in a fauxhawk, he had brown eyes and wore his Shujin uniform styled to his liking. He wore the blazer open, under he wore a yellow t-shirt that had a design with the words that read: 'ZOMG!', the Shujin pants he wore were rolled up showing off his ankles and wore white sneakers. Hiro joined the two boys shortly afterward as the blonde-haired boy stepped up to Ren.

"What do you want?" he vulgarly asked. "You plannin' on rattin' me out to Kamoshida?"

"What do you mean?" asked Ren since he didn't know who the vulgar boy was talking about. "Who are you talking about?"

"Huh?" the boy mouthed. "In that car just now it was Kamoshida." the boy scowled. "The guy does whatever the hell he wants. Who does he think he is? The king of a castle? Don't you agree?"

"The king of a castle?" Ren was now even more confused.

"No, I mean..." the boy went to explain some more as Hiro quickly interjected.

"Now you're just confusing the poor guy," Hiro said making himself known to them.

"Huh?" the faux-blonde said as he and Ren both noticed the Third-year student. "Oh, hey, Senpai. Didn't see ya there." Hiro wasn't surprised Sakamoto didn't notice him since he was too pre-occupied in running after Kamoshida to notice him.

"Sakamoto," Hiro greeted with a nod. "Hey, Amamiya. Good to see you again."

"Good to see you too, Senpai," Ren said with a smile, Ren turned to Sakamoto. "I just transferred here as a student at Shujin Academy. The names Ren Amamiya."

"A transfer student, eh?" Sakamoto said. "I'm Ryuji Sakamoto. A Second-year, huh... we're the same grade then. No wonder you didn't know who Kamoshida was. Like I said, guy thinks he's the king of the castle. Do you think so too, Senpai? I mean, you were on his volleyball team, right?"

"Hmm?" Hiro hummed as he crossed his arms. "Yeah, Kamoshida does act like he's the king of Shujin or something along those lines." Hiro shook his head with a sigh. "Anyway, I think we should start heading there now."

"Yeah, I guess," Ryuji shrugged. "This rain ain't too bad. We better hurry up, or we'll be late."

"Agreed," Hiro nodded. "Let's..." they began to walk until they stopped and all felt separate headaches.

"I'm feeling a bit light-headed for some reason..." Ren voiced clutching his head.

"Yeah..." groaned Hiro. "What even was that just now? My heads killing me."

"Same," Ryuji groaned after. "Dammit... I wanna go home..."

The teens began walking down the street and into the alleyway that was a shortcut to Shujin. As the trio made their trek through the alley, Ren turned around to look behind him. He couldn't put his finger on it but something felt off to him.

"Amamiya, you alright?" Hiro asked Ren as Ryuji only kept walking.

"Yeah, it's just..." Ren began to say.

"Wha-!?" said Ryuji from just up ahead.

"Was that Sakamoto-san?" Ren wondered walking up to Hiro.

"Yeah," Hiro nodded. "Let's go." Hiro and Ren found Ryuji just standing completely still. "Hey, Sakamoto, what's the... matter?" Hiro's expression matched Ryuji's. Eyes widened at the view they were looking at.

"What is that?" Ren wondered as he came out of the alley. His expression in shock like the other two. The three were looking at a castle. A large castle that reached way up into a dark, crimson sky. "Um, did we take a wrong turn?"

"We didn't come the wrong way though..." Ryuji said. "Yeah, this should be right. It says Shujin on the gate." Ryuji pointed at the plaque placed on the gate.

"This is bizarre..." Hiro said nervously clutching his scarf. "What's going on?"

"Guess we'll just have to go and ask," Ryuji supposed.

"If you say so...?" Hiro said a bit nervously. He looked at Ren and nodded then followed Ryuji. Ren soon followed suit with them into the castle that could probably be Shujin Academy.

**-O-**

The inside of the castle turned into the main hall of Shujin Academy until it reverted back to the castle. Ryuji, Hiro, and Ren all observed the inside. The three were rather confused by what was even going on.

"Th-that's weird..." voiced Ryuji. "Where's the school...?"

"I don't know what's happening?" Ren wondered. "But is this our school?"

"I'm not sure...?" Hiro said. "On the gate, it said 'Shujin'. The school looks like nothing like this."

"What's goin' on here?" Ryuji asked no one in particular and pulled out his cell phone. "Out of service? Where'd we end up...? Hey, Senpai? The sign was for the school, right?"

"That's what it said," Hiro nodded as he checked his own phone. No service. Just like what Sakamoto figured out earlier.

"Do you guys even know what the heck is going on?" Ren asked folding his arms while looking around.

"I-I dunno! I wanna know!" Ryuji yelled. Irritation was evident in his voice.

"Relax," Hiro said. "If we look around then we maybe figure if... huh?" Hiro and the other two looked and saw a tall person in dark armor approach them. It carried a sword and a shield, it's helmet had a blue face. It was taller than the trio of teens as it marched up to them.

"Geez, you freaked me out..." Ryuji said to the armored figure. "Who're you? You a student?" Hiro only facepalmed himself hearing Sakamoto ask that question to the stranger in the armor.

"How could he possibly ask that with a straight face...?" Hiro sighed quietly.

"Maybe he's the school mascot...?" Ren wondered tilting his head.

"Are you serious...?" Hiro could only frown at Ren.

"Man, your costume's impressive..." said Ryuji stepping up to the stranger. "Is that armor real?" Hiro only gave Ren a look.

"You obviously know something is clearly not right here, right?" Hiro asked.

"Yeah," nodded Ren. "I'm starting to see that now."

"C'mon," Ryuji was still trying to have a conversation with the person in armor. "Don't just stand there. Say somethin'." Another armored figure appeared similar to the first. Same black armor, sword, and shield. "H-Hey, what's goin' on?"

"There's no way this is a prank," Ren mentioned. "This is for real."

"Exactly what I was thinking," Hiro agreed.

"You guys really think so...?" Ryuji asked them. "This shit's real." Both the armored strangers closed in on the three teens who now stood more alert. "C-Calm down! Timeout, man!" Ryuji turned to Hiro and Ren. "Senpai! Amamiya! We gotta run!"

"Right!" Ren nodded.

"Stop standin' around and run!" Ryuji told him.

"After you!" Hiro said. The three began rushing to the exit but were soon cornered by more armored guards, they were now surrounded.

"Ugh, what's with these guys!?" Ryuji groaned. One of the armored guards knocked Ryuji in the back with its shield. "Gah!" the faux blonde shouted in pain.

"Sakamoto!" Hiro shouted worriedly. Another bashed Hiro with its own shield. "Agh!" Hiro yelled as he fell to the ground.

"Sakamoto-san! Nakamura-senpai!" Ren shouted with concern.

"Oww... you're gonna break my bones, dammit!" Ryuji yelled. "The hell you think you're-Aagh!"

"Take them away!?" ordered one of the armored men.

The boys were all swarmed and were taken away by the soldiers. Where? They didn't know it yet but it wasn't going to be good for them.

* * *

**Okay, that's another chapter. I got a little impatient and didn't wait 'till Saturday. But I did mention that I wanted to post on different days since I've already got some chapters ready. Like my other stories, I will be answering reviews.**

**Reviews...**

**Clarent excalibur: I guess I can't hide it since it's in the title. Yes, I will confirm Hiro will be the Strength confidant for Ren. As for the twin's, that's a good idea for them to be 'requests' like Elizabeth. But I also have an idea where they were apart of the Fool like how Igor is.**

**Walter Hitchcock: Thanks. I mean, yeah, I honestly like Akira Kurusu better than Ren Amamiya. Kind of like how I like Yu Narukami better than Souji Seta. But I'm using the DSN/Anime name just to become more familiar with it. It's not a bad name though.**

**Grimraven.V: I'm still not sure. Anything can happen, though, I might've made my mind on what I have in mind for that. I do have an idea I decided on that I will confirm in a few chapters.**

**ShadowUzumaki55: I will confirm that Makoto is an option for Hiro. Though, the childhood friend idea kinda just happened in the process of all the planning. People can decide whether it should be made into a romantic relationship between them later on in the story.**

**Cure Crystal: The love interest changed. But I have decided that whoever(or who you believe) Hiro ends up with, I'm going to do special scenario chapters with Hiro paired with a different girl. Just to show off what it would look like if he were with said girl. Also, expect possible ship teases.**

**Heisei255: Thank you! **

**ReallyLazyReader: Honestly, it does feel good to be back on this. Hiro having a full family in the last story is what made him a little unique to the other thieves since some only have one parent or none. Ann is the only one with both parents but they're both not present in the game and for Ren we just have to make our own imagination on his parents.**

**Hiro's mother will be referenced here and there. She's pretty important to his storyline.**

**Naruto RWBY: Well, I wasn't going to mention this here but there's a chance that Hiro could be paired with two girls. I mean, look what happened in the game, romancing several girls at once didn't go so well. Though, this is a fanfic so anything could be possible. Here's hoping I can pull it off, assuming it comes to that, heh heh.**

**GreenD109: Glad you like it, dude. I have mentioned that Hiro will be the Strength Arcana(or Confidant) for Ren. **

**Guest: Maui doesn't match Hiro. I feel like the Persona and the ultimate form have to match the character and their arcana in some way. I do have the idea of who Hiro's ultimate Persona is. But that won't appear until later down the line.**

**Before we end off here, so did you watch that Persona 5: The Royal trailer. I think it looks really cool. It's gonna be like Persona 5's Persona 4: Golden. They added new locations(who wants to play Pool?), two new characters(and Confidants), and new scenes. Will we get a bathhouse scene with everyone just like in Persona 3 and 4? **

**I'm really interested in what Kasumi Yoshizawa going be like as a character. All we know about her is that she's a First-year at Shujin, she's a rhythmic gymnast, she's joins the Phantom Thieves, and she's got a thing for Joker. Can't blame her though, right? It's the glasses, girls dig big glasses. All I can say is, is that she looks interesting and her design is great especially her Metaverse outfit. Would love to know what her codename is though.**

**It does suck that people who live in the West as I do won't get their hands on it until 2020. Watch them delay it. What are your thoughts on Persona 5: The Royal if you haven't seen the trailer yet? **

**Enough with my rambling, I'm going to post the next chapter probably in about a day. **

**I'll see you guys next time!**

**See you later! XD**


	3. Awakening! The Gentleman Thief!

**I do not own Persona**

**It is owned by Atlus**

**I just own my OC's**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Persona 5: A Wolf's Strength Pt.3**

* * *

"Hey, Senpai!" a that Hiro faintly. "C'mon, Senpai, get up!" he could feel someone shaking him slightly. He sat up and rubbed his eyes and was met with the concerned face of Ryuji.

"Sakamoto...?" Hiro croaked quietly.

"Hey, you're alive," Ryuji said in relief.

"Yeah, where are we?" Hiro wanted to know.

"Hell if I know," shrugged the blonde. "A brig or somethin'?"

"A brig?" Hiro questioned as he took in his surroundings. He, Ryuji, and Ren who was still out of it were in a medieval-like brig. A dirty place with a stone floor, chains hanging from the wall, a couple of barrels near the wall. Hiro only sighed in irritation. "Well, this is just wonderful." He voiced in sarcasm. Ryuji went to go wake Ren up.

"Hey, Amamiya," Ryuji shook him. "Hey, wake up!"

"Huh, what...?" Ren quietly said. "Sakamoto-san?" Ren saw Ryuji standing over him. Ryuji stepped back to give Ren some space to get up.

"You alright?" Ryuji asked.

"Yup, you?" Ren asked back.

"Yeah, more or less," Ryuji replied.

"Glad to see you up and around, Amamiya," Hiro smiled.

"You too, Senpai," Ren nodded. Ryuji rubbed the back of his head as he took in the surroundings himself.

"Looks like this ain't no dream..." Ryuji noted. "Ugh, what's goin' on!?" The vulgar teen charged right up to the cage door. "Hey, let us outta here! I know there's someone out there!" Ryuji walked right back to Ren and Hiro. "Dammit, where are we!? Is this some kinda TV set...?"

"Relax," Hiro suggested. "Freaking out about it is not gonna..."

"UWAAAAAAAAGH!" a violent scream is heard which alerted the three. Hearing that caused Ren and Hiro to stand up. The sudden screams made the teens run to the cell door.

"Th-The hell was that just now...?" Ryuji wondered fearfully.

"That didn't sound normal...?" Hiro questioned. "Don't you guys think so too?"

"Yeah..." Ren agreed.

"Whoa... Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa..." Ryuji freaked. "You're shittin' me, right?" Ryuji backed away from the cage. "This is really bad...! Isn't there someway outta here!? C'mon, we gotta do something?"

"Uh...?" Ren said as he started thinking. Even Hiro was in thought, putting a hand on his chin.

"Do you think there's something here that can help us get out of here, Sakamoto?" Hiro asked.

"I dunno!" Ryuji exclaimed. "It'd beat just sittin' around here!" Ren looked around to survey the inside of the cell. He noticed the barrels and looked inside them but found nothing.

"Yo, there's nothing in there," Ryuji said since he looked in there earlier.

"Obviously, I doubt whoever put us in here would leave us something to use to get out with," Ren shook his head.

"Man, take a look at these..." Hiro said as he noticed the chains on the wall.

"Hey, those chains're used for like..." Ryuji swallowed a lump in his throat. "Torturin' and stuff, right? Dammit, This shit ain't funny!"

Ren walked over to the beds. "How long were past out for?"

"I-I'm not sure...?" Hiro wondered as well.

_'Mako is most likely wondering where I am?'_ Hiro thought while clutching his scarf. _'If we get out of here, she's more than likely going to be pissed at me.'_

"Dammit, this doesn't make any freakin' sense..." Ryuji grunted. "Huh? You guys hear that?"

There was the sound of marching heard from outside the cell. Ryuji, Hiro, and Ren all ran to the cage door. The four large figures in black suits of armor from before stomped right up to the door.

**_"Be glad that your punishment has been decided upon,"_** the first of the armored soldier's stated. **_"Your charge is 'unlawful entry.' Thus, you will be sentenced to death."_**

"Say what!?" mouthed Ryuji.

"Death!?" repeated Hiro with wide-eyes.

**_"No one's allowed to do as they please in my castle."_**

A familiar voice spoke out. The figure who said it walked through the armored men. The figure wore a red cape with red and pink hearts all over it, a small gold crown perched on top of his curly-haired head, he wore pink underwear and brown loafers. His eyes were a golden yellow that stared right at the three teens.

"Huh, wait..." Ryuji said in surprise. "Is that you, Kamoshida?"

"Kamoshida!?" Hiro asked just as shocked as Ryuji. "I don't understand? What are you doing here!?"

"Kamoshida?" Ren wondered. "You mean that guy in that silver car from earlier?"

_**"I thought it was some petty thief, but to think it'd be you, Sakamoto..." **_said Kamoshida? He brought his eyes over to Ren. **_"_**_**And you brought a friend this time... because you can't do anything for yourself." **_He then noticed Hiro. _**"Oh, this is a surprise. Even Nakamura is here as well. To think one of my former players would stoop so low as to hang around with the likes of you."**_

"This ain't funny, you asshole!" Ryuji cursed.

"I don't know what kind of trick you're trying to pull, you bastard, but you got some nerve locking us in here!?" Hiro yelled.

_**"Is that how you speak to a king?" **_Kamoshida growled. _**"It seems you both don't understand the position's you're in at all. Not only did you sneak into my castle, you committed the crime of insulting me-the king."**_ He evilly smiled. _**"The punishment**_ **_for that is death. It's time for an execution! Take 'em out!"_**

"S-Stop it...!" Ryuji shouted stepping back frighteningly. The four knights walked into the cell with the three 'prisoners'. They all stepped up to Ryuji as Kamoshida ordered his execution first. "Goddammit...!" He cursed as the guards stepped up to him. Ryuji charged straight up to the first guard knocking it down with his shoulder. "I ain't down for this shit!" He turned to Ren and Hiro. "Amamiya! Senpai, we're outta here!"

"Yeah!" Hiro nodded. "Let's go!" he said to Ren.

"Alright!" Ren agreed. One of the guards charged up to Ryuji. "Sakamoto-san! Watch out!"

"Huh!?" Ryuji said as he was then punched hard in the stomach by the guard. "Nnngh... Owww..." he grunted in pain, clutching his stomach.

"Sakamoto!" Hiro shouted. "Damn it, Kamoshida! Stop this right now!" Kamoshida said nothing and only grinned evilly as he gestured for a guard to shut up Hiro. The guard took it's shield and slammed it into Hiro.

"Aaagh!" screamed Hiro as he fell over onto his back. He tried getting back on his feet but was pushed back down on his back by a guard stomping on his chest, pinning him on the ground. Hiro struggled under the foot of the guard but couldn't get himself free.

"Nakamura-senpai!" Ren shouted. He decided he had to do something, he couldn't leave Ryuji or Hiro to die. He tried to go after one of the guards facing Ryuji.

"Just go, Amamiya! Get outta here...!" Ryuji told him. "These guys are serious!"

_**"Oh?"** _Kamoshida mouthed at Ren.**_ "Running away, are we? What a heartless friend you are."_**

"Amamiya, just hurry up and leave!" Hiro said.

"But-I..." Ren pronounced hesitantly.

_**"What's the matter?**" _Kamoshida mocked Ren. **_"Too scared to run away? Hmph, pathetic scum isn't worth my time... I'll focus on Sakamoto's execution... then after that, it will be Nakamura's turn."_**

The guard holding down Hiro brought him up and held him by his wrist to restrain him. Another held Ren back, a sword pointed at the spectacle-wearing boy. Two guards held Ryuji by his arms as Kamoshida started to pummel him.

_**"Take this!"** _Kamoshida punched Ryuji in the face. _**"Lowly scum!"** _he landed two more strikes on Ryuji._**"Useless pest!"** _A blow to the gut was then followed by a punch to the face. The final punch knocked Ryuji to the ground.

"Stop it!" Hiro shouted as he struggled in the guard's grip. "You're hurting him!" Kamoshida growled in frustration at Hiro's comments. He made his way up to him and punched Hiro in the face. "Gah!" shouted Hiro. Kamoshida then followed with a punch straight to Hiro's stomach. Hiro's eyes widened in pain, that one punch made him feel like he was gonna lose his breakfast. Hiro fell to his knees still held up by the guard.

_**"Quit running your mouth, Nakamura,"** _said Kamoshida. **_"Your turn will be next."_** Kamoshida walked up to Ryuji and spat on him. _**"Hmph, where'd your energy from earlier go?"** _A guard picked up Ryuji by his collar and threw him. **_"A peasant like you isn't worth beating."_**

**[Persona 5 OST: Blood of Villain]**

_**"I'll have you killed right now,"** _Kamoshida said.

"Have you lost your mind!?" Ren shouted at the man. "Leave them alone!"

_**"What...?"** _Kamoshida made his way up to Ren. _**"Don't you dare tell me you don't know who I am."** _He grinned as he stared at him right in the eyes. Ren only had a glare of anger. His dark eyes had a defiant look to them. **_"That look in your eyes irritates me!" _**Kamoshida kicked Ren in the stomach knocking the teen off his feet. **_"Hold him there... After the peasant's, it's his turn to die." _**Hiro was still on his knees held by the guard as Ryuji was laying on the ground.

"No!" Ren shouted but was then grabbed by the arms by a couple of guards. They knocked him against the wall to keep there while Kamoshida ordered Ryuji's execution.

"No..." Ryuji begged. "No, I don't wanna die!"

_**"Hahaha!"** _Kamoshida cackled in laughter. Hiro started getting up on his feet. The guard holding him wrapped an arm around his neck putting him in a hold. Ren felt he couldn't do anything to help Ryuji or Hiro. He began to give up hope until for him everything dark.

_"This is truly an unjust game..." _A feminine voice said in his head. _"Your chances of winning are almost none." _There was a blue butterfly that flew past Ren. Flying in front of his eyes. _"But if my voice is reaching you, there may be a possibility open to you..." _Ren curiously watched the butterfly flap its wings and fly around him until in his mind he heard a voice.

_**"What's the matter...?"** _A deep voice in Ren's head that sounded like his own asked. _**"Are you simply going to watch? Are you forsaking them to save yourself? Death awaits them if you do nothing. Was your previous decision a mistake then?"** _Hearing that question Ren remembered the night he was arrested trying to help that woman the night he was arrested.

"No, it wasn't," Ren muttered. He saw Ryuji being lifted up, the guard's hand wrapped around his throat.

"Sakamoto...!" Hiro growled. The guard still has an arm wrapped around his neck in a tight hold.

_**"Very well... I have heeded your resolve."** _The voice in Ren's mind said as the two guards kept him restrained. _**"Vow to me."** _Ren let out a short scream as tears dripped from his eyes. _"**I am thou, thou art I... Thou art willing to perform sacrilegious acts for thine own**** justice! Call upon thy name, and release thy rage!"** _Ren screamed louder as he threw his head back, he then hung his head. _**"Show the strength of thy will to ascertain all of thine own, though thou be chained to Hell itself!"** _Ren brought his head back up, with a defiant intense glare.

_**"Execute him!"** _Kamoshida ordered Ryuji's execution.

"That's enough!" Ren shouted. "If you wanna kill someone...!? Then kill me instead, you coward!"

**_"What was that...?" _**Kamoshida growled to Ren. All attention was on Ren now as Kamoshida slowly turned to him. The guard holding up Ryuji released him. Even the guard holding Hiro let him go. _**"You desire to be killed that much...? Fine!"** _he nodded to his guard to give Ren what he asked for.

The guard took it's shield and slammed into Ren's face. Ren's glasses knocked off his face and clattered to the ground. Two guards crossed their staff's against his throat to hold him in place against the wall. One guard stood ready with a sword in hand to deal the blow.

Ryuji tried to stand himself up but fell back against the wall. Hiro was laying on the ground watching the knights deal with Ren. Kamoshida made a gesture to execute Ren. The guard raised its sword. Before it could strike the blow on Ren, Ren's eyes snapped open as a powerful gust of wind knocked the sword-wielding guard to the ground. Kamoshida covered his eyes from the strong gust.

Ren brought his head up and over his eyes was a mask. It was a black and white, birdlike domino mask. Ren seemed to be confused as to why it was even there. He started grabbing at it as he tried to pull it off. He struggled as he tried to rip off the mask that seemed like it was stuck to his face.

**[Persona 5 OST: Awakening]**

"AAAAAGH!" screamed Ren as finally managed rip off the mask as blood poured from around his eyes. He brought his head up, a devilish smile etched across his face. The blood was still around his eyes as his iris were both golden-yellow. A blue flame consumed him as demonic laughed can be heard.

Ren kneeled down as the flame disappeared from his body and it went above him and revealed another being. Ren's outfit was changed, showing he was no longer wearing his school uniform. He wore a black ankle-length tailcoat, under that he wore a high-necked waistcoat with gold accents, black jogger-styled pants tucked into some brown-black winkle-pickers, and a pair of red gloves on his hands.

The being behind Ren was even bigger than him. It had a top hat and demonic-looking face and wore a red coat, red leggings and wore a black vest. Ren outstretched his arms and the being behind revealed it's large black bird wings and sent Kamoshida and the guards flying backward.

"Wha-what the...!?" said Ryuji in shock. Ren stood with his same confident smirk.

**[Persona 5 OST: Willpower]**

_**"I am the pillager of twilight-'Arsene'!"** _The being behind Ren announced.

"A-Amamiya!?" Hiro said in confusion.

_**"I am the rebel's soul that resides within you,"** _Arsene told Ren. **_"If you so desire, I shall consider granting you the power to break through this crisis."_**

"Oh, yeah," Ren nodded confidently. "Give me your power."

**_"Hmph, very well..."_ **Arsene said.

_**"Who the hell are you...!?"** _Kamoshida asked Ren. _**"Guards!"** _Two guards stood to attention. _**"Start by killing that one!"** _The guards transformed into beings with pumpkin heads with pointy hat's, a cape and a lantern. **_"You'll learn the true strength of my men!"_**

"Let's see what they got, pink undies!" Ren remarked. He got ready to fight with Arsene floating behind him.

_**"Detest the enemies before you!"** _Arsene explained. **_"Change that animosity into power... and unleash it!"_**

"Persona!" Ren shouted summoning Arsene. He used an ability called Eiha on one of the pumpkins with lanterns. He didn't kill it but it did look like it hurt. Both the pumpkins went to attack Ren with their lanterns. Ren easily evaded their attacks, jumping out of the way of the first one, and black-flipping away from the second.

_**"Swing your blade!"** _Arsene told Ren since he had a knife in his hand.

"My blade?" Ren wondered until he noticed he had a knife inside his coat. He pulled it out and went to attack the two pumpkins. Ren dashed up to the pumpkin he attacked earlier and slashed it with a few swings killing it as it dissipated in the air.

_**"This power of mine is yours!"** s_aid Arsene. **_"Kill them however you want. Run wild to your heart's content!"_**

"Don't mind if I do," Ren smirked and then went to attack the enemy with his knife. He slashed at it while also flipping in between cuts. The shadow pointed it's lantern at Ren and blasted fire straight at him. Ren dashed to evade the following flames, he cart-wheeled and landed on his feet in a crouch and grasped his mask and summoned Arsene to land the final blow with an Eiha. With the fight over, everything calmed down. Ryuji was still seated on the ground against the wall until he stood up and walked up to Ren.

"What..." said Ryuji who seemed speechless. Ren looked down at himself, staring at his new outfit. "What was that just now...?" Hiro stood up and walked over the both of them.

"Yeah, Amamiya, how did you do all that?" Hiro asked.

"I-I'm not sure...?" Ren said.

**_"You little...!"_** said Kamoshida stomping over. Ryuji stood up and rammed himself into Kamoshida knocking him over. _**"Aagh!"** _Kamoshida screamed as he fell down.

"Hah! You like that you son of a bitch!?" Ryuji said.

"The key!" Ren said, pointing at the object on the floor.

"Y-You mean this!?" Ryuji said. He grabbed the key as he and Ren ran out of the cage. Looking around, Hiro managed to find Ren's glasses that were on the ground and picked them up.

"Hmm?" Hiro hummed in thought as he held the glasses and looked them over in confusion. "These are...?"

"Yo, senpai!" Ryuji called.

"Nakamura-senpai, hurry!" Ren said.

_**"Why you..."** _growled Kamoshida standing up. Hiro started running to the entrance. As he did, he punched Kamoshida right in the back of the head.

**_"Gah!" _**screamed Kamoshida falling to the floor once again.

"Later, asshole!" Hiro said running out the cell. Ryuji locked the cage using the key.

"Okay, it's locked!" Ryuji announced.

_**"Damn you!"** _Kamoshida said standing up. Ryuji ignored him and turned to Ren.

"Hey...! What was that just now!?" Ryuji asked and stared down at it Ren's attire. "And... your clothes...!"

"If I'm being honest," Hiro said, crossing his arms. "I think his clothes look pretty cool."

"I guess..." said Ryuji. Ren's outfit lit up with a flash of a blue flame as he changed back into his school uniform. "Whoa, it went back to normal...!?" Kamoshida shook the locked cell door. "Waaaaah!" screamed Ryuji in a startle.

**_"You bastards!" _**cursed Kamoshida.

"God, this's is effin' nuts!" Ryuji commented.

"Let's stop standing here and get out of here!" Hiro claimed.

"Right, let's scram!" Ryuji agreed. "You lead the way!" Ryuji said to Ren. Ren ran and was followed by Hiro as Ryuji threw the key and followed them.

_**"Goddamn thieves...!"** _Kamoshida muttered. **_"After them! Don't let them escape! You bastards!" _**He shouted at the three teens.**_"You think you can get away with doing this to me!?"_**

"I don't give a shit!" Ryuji expressed. "I ain't down for any of this! C'mon, you guys! Let's get outta here!"

"Amamiya, lead the way," Hiro said and then realized. "Oh, I got these for you." Hiro handed Ren his glasses.

"Thanks," Ren smiled. "Follow me, guys!" Ren, Ryuji, and Hiro started running away to try and find their way out.

"We gotta look for a way outta here!" Ryuji voiced everyone's thoughts.

"I think we've had enough excitement for one day!" Hiro added. "Let's hurry on!" They until they stopped by the edge with water running in between. Ren noticed a broken bridge that could've been their way to the other side.

"Huh?" Ryuji said, walking up to the edge. "'Sup?"

"The bridge is down," Hiro answered.

"It ain't too far," Ryuji wondered. "Think we can jump across?"

"Only one way to find out," Ren said leaping right to the other side. "Come on, you guys!" Ren called over.

"All right!" Ryuji said. "We can keep goin' this way." The three rushed through the dungeon-like area. There were three cages in the water the three used to jump across the gape.

"All that execution..." Ryuji mentioned. "Is he serious?"

"Don't know, don't care," Hiro remarked sounding so done with this dungeon. "I just want to leave whatever the hell this place is."

"Yeah, yeah, right," agreed Ryuji. Ren followed Hiro and Ryuji made it to an open jail cell. There was a hole in the cell that was a tunnel. Ren nodded, pushing glasses back into place.

"Through here," Ren said as he kneeled down and crawled into the hole.

"Okay, right behind you," Hiro said crawling through as well as Ryuji followed into it too.

"Crap!" shouted Ryuji.

"What's the matter with you?!" Hiro wondered.

"My bag's stuck!" Ryuji explained.

"Well, get it unstuck," Hiro insisted irritably.

"I'm tryin'," Ryuji said, as he finally got his bag free. "Okay, looks like we can get outta here." Ren made it out of the tunnel first, then Hiro, and then Ryuji. They rushed down and made it to an archway.

"Hey, hold up!" Ryuji shouted in a whisper. Ren and Hiro complied and hid with him. There were shadows down the hall. "Look! There're some guys in armor over there. They'll prolly call for back up if we try and take 'em on. We should go some other way...!" The teen trio ran back the other way. They made it to a drawbridge and rushed across it.

"Hey, we gotta hide!" Ryuji warned. The teens ducked behind some crates and barrels.

"They must be looking for us, huh?" Hiro nodded.

"Obviously," Ren said.

"I ain't playin' along with this anymore!" Ryuji said. "We gotta find a way outta this goddamn place!"

"Over here," Ren said gesturing his hand over to a flight of stairs with Hiro and Ryuji following him.

"If this goes up, you think it heads to the exit?" Ryuji asked.

"There's only one way to find out," Hiro said. Finally making it up to the stairs they made it to a door. Ryuji was a bit out of breath as fell over with his hands on his knees.

"I-Is this... the exit!?" breathed Ryuji. "Hey, let's get the hell outta this place!" Ren nodded and opened the door followed by the other two. They went through the door and were met with another area in the dungeon. "Dude... you gotta be jokin'... this ain't the exit!? What the hell this place!?"

"Quit moping!" Hiro declared. "Let's just keep looking." The trio started their rush to find a way out of this place. Ryuji turned his head and saw some people in cages hanging over the water.

"H-Hey... Look... Ryuji pointed. "We really did hear people screamin'... So we ain't the only ones who got captured! Is, uh... is he OK...?" The ones in the cages were screaming for help.

"I don't know, Sakamoto?" Hiro said. "But right now we need to get out of here."

"Dude!? How could...!?" Ryuji said in shock.

"Senpai is right, Sakamoto-san," Ren said nodding. "Now, come on."

"Fine..." Ryuji sighed. As Hiro ran he couldn't help but glance at the caged individuals. He noticed the students were wearing Shujin uniforms.

_"Are they supposed to be student's...?" _Hiro thought. _"Geez, what's going on? I know for a fact this isn't the school. Oh man, Makoto is more than likely going to give me an earful if we ever get out of here." _He, Ren, and Ryuji ran and made it down a dead end.

"Another dead end...?" Ryuji growled. "Dammit! How the hell're we supposed to get outta here!?"

"Hey, you there," A voice called the group. The three searched around in confusion for the source of the voice. "Blondie! Silver Hair! Frizzy Hair! Look over here!" They all turned where they heard the noise and saw a short blue-eyed cat-looking creature just looking up at them.

"What is this thing!?" said a shocked Ryuji.

"It's talking!?" Hiro said with surprise and wonder.

"You're not soldiers of this castle, right!?" The cat creature asked. "Get me out of here! Look, the key's right there!" He said pointing towards the key on the wall.

"We're trying to get the hell outta here...!" Ryuji claimed. "I mean, you obviously look like an enemy too!"

"I'm locked up in here, so how can I be your enemy!?" The cat reasoned. "Help me out!"

"A cat?" Ren said rather calmly. "How can it talk?"

_'He sounds rather calm for someone seeing something so unusual as this?' _Hiro thought as he gave Ren a look.

"I am NOT a cat!" the 'cat' stated. "Say that again and I'll make you regret it!" There were footsteps fast approaching which seemed to worry Ryuji.

"They're catchin' up already...!" Ryuji said he then checked his phone. "Shit, there's still no service. Ain't there no way to contact someone outside!?" Ren and also Hiro checked their own cellphones as well. "How the hell do we get out...!?"

"Hey, you three!" called the 'cat'. "You want to know where the exit is? Let me out and I'll take you there. You don't want to get caught and executed, right?"

"If what you say is true...?" Ren asked. "You better not be lying."

"I'm not lying!" the 'cat' argued. "It's the truth!"

"This thing sounds like it's all talk..." Ryuji noted folding his arms.

"If you guys think you can get out on your own, then be my guest!" the 'Cat' said.

"Whadda we do...?" Ryuji asked. The footsteps only became louder and sounded like they were not too far away.

"Are you seriously messin' with us!?" Ryuji inquired of the 'Cat'.

"If you don't hurry, they'll catch you." the 'cat' reasoned.

"Screw it, just let uh...? 'It' out?" Hiro said raising an eyebrow. The 'cat' glared up at him from being called 'It'. "Judging from the situation we're in, I'm willing to take any kind of help."

"Yeah, I agree," Ren nodded. "Sakamoto-san, get the key and let the 'Cat' out."

"F-Fine..." Ryuji complied as he grabbed the key off the wall and opened it up. The 'cat' happily skipped out of the cage with a pleased smile.

"Ahhhh... Freedom tastes so great..." the 'cat' said victoriously.

"Now, where's the exit, you monster cat!?" Ryuji asked.

"Don't call me a cat! I am Morgana!"

"Shuddup and hurry it up!" Ryuji said. "You wanna be locked up again!?"

"A-All right, sheesh!" Morgana said. "Follow me, and stay quiet!" Morgana started running as the other three followed suit.

**-O-**

Sadayo Kawakami was in the teacher's room. The woman was sitting at her desk as she let out a sigh. She turned her toward the clock on the wall.

"Geez, it's fourth period already," she sighed. "Sakura-san said that Amamiya-kun left the house this morning. Should I contact the police...? No, that'll just be more of a hassle..." the woman sighed once more, placing her hand on her forehead and putting her fingers through her hair. "What did I do to deserve this...?"

**-O-**

Back inside the dungeon, Ren, Ryuji, Hiro are now joined by Morgana. The 'cat' or whatever it claimed itself to be agreed to lead them out of the castle.

"Oh well..." Ryuji sighed. "I guess we gotta follow it."

"It isn't like we have much choice," Hiro shrugged. They followed Morgana over to an undrawn bridge.

"What're you doin'?" Ryuji asked Morgana.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" said Morgana. "I'm lowering the bridge." He was standing next to a short, gray Kamoshida statue.

"Lowering the bridge?" Hiro asked.

Morgana turned to Ren. "You, Frizzy Hair. It seems like you pick up on things faster than Blondie and Silver Hair over here. Try checking around the mouth of this statue, OK?"

"OK, I'll give it a shot," Ren said. He stepped right up to the statue and pulled the jaw of it. Its eyes lit up a bright yellow and the bridge was drawn.

"How were we supposed to know that!?" Ryuji said.

"Hmph, amateur," Morgana huffed. "Come on, let's keep going!" The three made a dash on the bridge. But as soon as they made it across another armored knight appeared.

"Incoming!" Hiro warned as he quickly stopped in his tracks.

"A-Aah! Shit... Shit, it's them!" Ryuji screamed fearfully. Ren immediately changed into his new attire from earlier.

"Tch... You amateur!" Morgana said jumping off Ryuji's shoulder, he gave Hiro and Ryuji a look. "Both of you stay back. Hey, you!" he called up to Ren. "You can fight, right? Let's go!" Morgana did a little spin in the air and landed on his feet. "Come, Zorro!"

The being Morgana summoned, Zorro, had a wide, muscular stature wearing all black and wore a black silver belt with a big Z on it. It carried a rapier and did a 'Z' formation in the air with it.

"Y-You got one of those too!?" Said Ryuji in shock. The knight began changing shape.

"It's going to attack!" Hiro announced pointing at the shadow. Morgana only folded his arms and confidently smirked.

"Hmph, we will promptly shut them up!" Morgana said. The ones before Ren and Morgana were a demon with purple skin and another pumpkin. "Damn Shadows... they've taken up intercept positions!"

"And that means...?" Ren asked.

"It means they're holding nothing back and are serious to kill us!" Morgana said. "I'll back you up, so fight like your life depends on it! Let's go!"

"I'll start!" Ren said. "Persona!" he summoned Arsene and unleashed an Eiha on the purple-skinned demon which was not killed.

"Hmph, I knew you were an amateur," Morgana said.

"Can you do better?" Ren asked cheekily with a grin.

"Watch and learn!" Morgana smiled back. "This is how you fight! Zorro, show your might!" Morgana summoned Zorro and attacked the floating pumpkin. Zorro rotated its rapier in a quick motion and then sent a wind blast straight at the pumpkin as it hunched over in a weakened state. "Strike at an enemy's weakness to knock them down! Use that opening to strike again! That's the most basics of basics! Remember it well!"

"I'll keep it in mind!" Ren nodded.

"C'mon, let's hurry and get through this!" Morgana said. He brought out Zorro again and used his wind attack to finish the pumpkin off

"Ravage them!" Ren summoned Arsene and used Eiha on the demon as it dissipated. Morgana stared up at Ren with an impressed smile.

"Not bad. Your Persona's pretty powerful." Morgana said to Ren.

"Persona...?" Ryuji said in confusion.

"What's a Persona...?" Hiro asked. "Is it that thing that comes out of you guys."

"Yes. You saw how Frizzy Hair here ripped off his mask when he summoned it, right?" Morgana said. "Well, everybody where's a mask deep within their heart. By removing that..." As if on cue, Ren's outfit reverted back to his school uniform.

"Huh...?" Ryuji gasped. "He turned back to normal..."

"Um, do you happen to know why I turn back to normal?" Ren asked Morgana.

"Hm, it looks like you don't have full control of your power yet," Morgana said. "The transformation shouldn't normally dissolve like that. After all-"

"Rrgh, that's enough!" Ryuji interjected. "This crap doesn't make any sense!"

"Can't you just sit down and listen for once, Blondie!?" Morgana snapped.

"Don't call me Blondie My name's Ryuji..."

"Sorry to interrupt!" Hiro said. "But shouldn't we start leaving!? Like now!"

"Yeah, Silver Hair is right," Morgana said. "You wanna escape this place in one piece, right? Let's go! Oh, but before that... take these. Use them carefully, OK?" He gave Ren some medicine.

"Thanks," Ren said. "So, where to?"

"It's not much farther to the exit," Morgana said. Morgana ran with the other three following him. They were running to a bridge until Ryuji stopped as he noticed something.

"Hold on a sec!" Ryuji said. Everyone stopped turning around to him. He made his way up to a cage with someone in it wearing a red sports uniform. "I feel like I've seen what this dude's wearin' before..." Ryuji scowled. "Dammit! I'm too flustered! I can't remember a damn thing!"

"Of course you have seen what this guy is wearing," Hiro said stepping next to Ryuji. "He's wearing the volleyball team uniform."

"Oh yeah!" Ryuji said. "I keep forgettin' you were on the team."

"And I'm trying to forget..." Hiro said with a sad look. Ren eyed Hiro curiously.

_'What does he mean by 'trying to forget'?' _Ren thought as he stared at Hiro.

"But why would this guy be in here?" Ryuji wondered.

"Come on, let's go!" Morgana said turning around.

"Hold on, dammit!" Ryuji said.

"What is it? We need to go fast!" Morgana argued.

"But...!" Ryuji said.

"Do you really think you have time to worry about other people right now!?" Morgana reasoned. "Besides, they're-"

_**"There!"** s_aid the voice of an armored guard who approached the group as the bridge lowered.

"You should've just listened to me...!" Morgana expressed.

"Let's fight," Ren said as his outfit changed. "It isn't going to let us go."

"I'm glad you stick to your guns," Morgana said. The guard turned into a fairy creature. Its wings flapped behind it as it flew in front of the group.

"Looks like it's rarin' to go too!" Morgana noticed. The fairy separated in two. Two fairies were now in front of Ren and Morgana.

"Persona!" Ren ripped off his mask and attacked one of the fairies with Eiha. He weakened the one he attacked and followed with a 'Cleave' attack. Arsene brought his bladed foot down on the Pixie killing it.

Morgana took his turn next to blast a Garu on the remaining Pixie. The Pixie went to physically attack Morgana who evaded the attack. Joker took his turn to slice down the shadow with his knife. After the fight, Ren's outfit changed back to his school uniform.

"All right!" Morgana said. "Let's get away before more show up!"

"Hold on, we can't just leave these guys here...!" Ryuji said pointing at the volleyball player.

"You really don't get it, do you?" Morgana groaned. "There's no time to explain. Look I'm going. If you don't want to follow, be my guest." With that, Morgana ran across the bridge.

"We should do as he says," Ren said to Ryuji and Hiro. "Come on, you guys."

"We gotta leave, Sakamoto," Hiro said.

"Dammit," cursed Ryuji. "Fine, I'm coming!" They made it across the bridge and followed Morgana into a dark hallway.

"The entrance hall is right above here!" Morgana informed. "The exit's close... Keep it up!" They followed Morgana threw the main hall and to the exit. "We're here!"

"Finally!" said in Ryuji in relief. "We're saved...!" He ran to a door and tried to force it open.

It's not openin'!" He turned to Morgana. "D'you trick us, you jerk!"

"Don't jump to conclusions!" said, Morgana. "Over here!" He quickly skipped through a door behind him.

"H-Hey, wait up!" Ryuji as he and the other two followed. They ran into a room dimly lit room with bookshelves. Ren quickly made out the ventilation shaft.

"Are you sure this is the way out?" Hiro asked. "This looks like a dead end?"

"Yeah, and where are we supposed to get from here!?" Ryuji chimed in. "There aren't even any windows!"

"Ugh, amateurs..." groaned Morgana. "This is the basics of basics."

"A ventilation shaft?" Ren voiced.

"That's right!" Morgana said happily jumping in the air. "As I thought, you're a natural at this. It leads all the way outside."

"I see..." Ryuji said. "Then we just gotta get that metallic mesh off!" He started clambering up the bookcases. "And a one, and a-"

"Hey, make sure to be..." Hiro said before...

"Whoa...!" Ryuji screamed in surprise.

"Quiet," Hiro said as Ryuji fell along with the ventilation grate.

"Oww... Crap!" Ryuji said. "The enemy didn't hear us, did they?"

"I hope not," Hiro said folding his arms. "They might have heard all the noise you were making. But now we can make our escape."

"Seriously, we're finally gettin' outta here...!" Ryuji commented.

"You should wait on celebrating until you actually get out," Morgana suggested. "Now, get going."

"But... what about you?" Ryuji asked him.

"There's something that I still have to do," Morgana declared. "We're going our separate ways."

"Well, we appreciate the help, Morgana," Ren said with a smile.

"Yeah, we wouldn't have made it out without you," Hiro agreed. Ryuji climbed the vent first, then Hiro went right after him.

"Bye," Ren waved. "Oh, and don't get caught again."

"You better be careful too," Morgana said with a grin. "See ya." He and Ren shared smiles and nods until Ren followed his schoolmates. Morgana followed a little as Ren disappeared into the shaft. "Those three seem useful..." He thought aloud. "Especially the frizzy-haired one, if my judgment's right..."

**-O-**

Ren, Ryuji, and Hiro were all on the sidewalk they met on, all breathing heavily like they ran a marathon. Ryuji had his hands placed on his knees.

"Did we make it...?" Ryuji asked the other two. Ren pulled out his smartphone.

**"You have returned to the real world."** A female voice said. **"Welcome back."**

"Huh? Returned?" said Ryuji. "Does that mean we got away?"

"Probably," Ren said casually.

"We must've gotten away..." Hiro said. "We are back in Shibuya. Well, what do you guys think?"

"I dunno what to think anymore..." Ryuji said. "What was all that anyway...? That castle, and Kamoshida, and that weird cat! The hell's goin' on!?"

"Sakamoto...!" Hiro said teeth gritted. "Quiet down before..."

"What's with the yelling?" said an officer who strolled up with another officer on a bike. "Are you students of Shujin?"

"Too late..." Hiro muttered in a whisper.

"Cutting classes, are we?" the officer commented.

"Huh? No!" Ryuji uttered. "We were tryin' to get to school, and we ended up at this weird castle!" It was at this time Hiro hung his head and face-palmed himself.

_"Why the hell would he even tell that to them...!?" _Hiro shouted in thought.

"Hand over your bag," The officer insisted. "You better not be doing any drugs."

"Why would you think that!?" yelled Ryuji.

"Are you his friends?" asked the officer on the bike to Ren and Hiro.

"Something like that," Ren shrugged.

"Then you should go to school," said the officer. "Take him with you."

"Yes, Officer," Hiro said with a nod. He knew to act when talking to a police officer with his Dad being a Police Detective.

"Like I'm tryin' to say...!" growled Ryuji. "I don't know what's going on either!"

_'Dude, Shut up! You're only making everything worse!' _Hiro angrily thought.

"We passed by Shujin on the way here." The officer said. "There's nothing out of the ordinary about it. If you spout any more nonsense, I'll contact your school. Is that what you want?"

"No," Hiro shook his head. "We'll head straight to school right away."

"C'mon, say somethin'!" Ryuji said to Ren.

"Let's get going to school," Ren said casually.

"Uh, that's not what I meant..." Ryuji said. Ren started walking off to Shujin casually.

"W-Wait a sec!" Ryuji stuttered. "Is that guy for real...?"

"Hurry up," Hiro ordered. "Let's go." He told Ryuji and started walking.

Ryuji groaned frustratedly. "Fine, I'm goin'!" He said stomping after his schoolmates.

Hiro, Ren, and Ryuji were standing right in front of the Shujin Academy. The building didn't look like the castle, it now just looked like the same old school.

"Look," Hiro said. "It's Shujin. But it's back to normal."

"Hmm," Ren nodded. "Nothing seems out of the ordinary."

"It's this for real..." Ryuji said in disbelief. "I'm sure we came the same way... What's goin' on here...?"

"That's exactly what I wanted to ask you," said Shujin's school counselor walking out of the building. "We received a call from the police."

"That damn cop snitched on us after all!" Ryuji growled irritably.

_"It's no surprise," _thought Hiro. _"Of course they would report us being this late to School. I just realized... not only Makoto may be upset with me but my Dad as well. Man, am I gonna get it."_

"Hmm?" The counselor hummed in thought. "It's rare not to see you alone." He pointed his question at Ryuji. "Where were you roaming around until at this time?"

"Uhh... a ca- a castle?" Ryuji fumbled his words. Once again, Hiro face-palmed himself again.

_'Does he really think people will believe him!?' _Hiro thought irritably.

"So, you have no intention of giving an honest answer?" The counselor said.

"What's this about a 'castle'?" asked an all-too-familiar voice. Who asked was Suguru Kamoshida himself.

"Kamoshida!?" said a startled Ryuji.

"Kamoshida..." Hiro repeated.

"Nakamura, I could've sworn I remember you heading down here to Shujin Academy this morning," Kamoshida said, with a fold of his arms. "It's quite a surprise to see you next to someone like Sakamoto."

"Ah, it wasn't by choice, sir," Hiro said trying to act respectfully. "I just ended up with him this morning by some chance."

"Is that right?" Kamoshida turned to Ryuji. "And you seem so carefree, Sakamoto. Quite a difference from when you did morning practice for the track team."

"Shuddup!" Ryuji yelled. "It's your fault that-"

"How dare you speak that way to Mr. Kamoshida!" shouted the counselor and then sighed. "There's not much leeway left for you, you know?"

"He's the one that provoked me!" Ryuji argued.

"Do you really want to be expelled?" The counselor countered. "In any case, you'll have to explain yourself! Follow me!"

"What!?" Ryuji growled. "This is bullshit!"

"Come now," Kamoshida smiled at the counselor. "I should have been more considerate, too. Let's just say that we were both to blame."

"Well, if you say so..." said the school counselor. "Still, you're coming with me. It's undeniable that you're extremely late."

"Fine..." Ryuji groaned.

"Okay," Hiro nodded.

"Before you go, Nakamura, we need to talk," Kamoshida said to Hiro.

"Sure," Hiro said. Kamoshida turned his eyes over to Ren.

"By the way... you're that new transfer student, correct? Ren Amamiya..." asked Kamoshida. Ryuji started following the counselor into the school but not before giving Kamoshida a venomous glare and continued his trek into the building. Hiro stayed behind since Kamoshida wanted to talk to him.

"Have we met somewhere?" Kamoshida asked Ren.

"You offered a girl a ride this morning," Ren reminded.

"That's right..." Kamoshida said with a shake of his head. "I remember now. Well, I'll overlook this just for today. I'm sure you've heard from the principal, but cause any trouble and you'll be expelled, understand?"

_'What does he mean by 'cause any trouble'?' _Hiro thought. _"Amamiya doesn't look like a bad guy at all. Did he do something wrong?"_

"I understand," Ren nodded.

_"At least he's respectful," _thought Hiro. _"Even if he's talking to someone like Kamoshida."_

"At any rate, hurry up and go to the faculty office," ordered Kamoshida. "I'm sure Ms. Kawakami's tired of waiting." He turned to leave but looked back at Ren. "Good luck trying to enjoy your new school life. Nakamura, follow me."

"I'm coming," Hiro said. "See you around, Amamiya."

"Yeah," Ren nodded as Hiro followed Kamoshida inside Shujin Academy.

**-O-**

**[Interrogation Room]**

"The school turned into an old castle...?" Sae asked Ren as if she was not even convinced at what Ren just told her. "A talking cat...? Are you hallucinating from an overdose? I won't put up with you if you're simply joking around."

"I'm only trying to tell you what I know," Ren replied. "I never said you'd believe me, Niijima-san. I stand by what I told you. Take it how you will." She looked at her watch to survey how much time she had left.

"I going to have you continue the story," Sae said. "The one who received a 'calling card' from the Phantom Thieves was an Olympic medalist..." Sae moved the two calling card's out of the way to reveal a picture of Suguru Kamoshida. "An alumnus from Shujin Academy-the PE teacher Suguru Kamoshida."

"Disgusting pervert," Ren commented with a glare. Just remembering that bastard brought all the memories of everything he's done.

"It's true that what he did were deplorable crimes from... indulging his desire," Sae herself sounded abhorred when thinking about Kamoshida's crime. "He confessed to it all. But there should've been no connection between the two of you since you had just transferred. Why did you target him?"

"He was going after my friends," said Ren. "I couldn't let him do that."

"Then I assume it was personal, wasn't it?" Sae asked as Ren gave her a slow nod. "Continue?"

* * *

**Okay, and that's another one down. Like my second take of this story, Hiro joined Ren and Ryuji in the castle. It similar to the original chapter but I made minor changes to it. Not big changes granted, mind you. **

**Reviews...**

**Clarent excalibur: I agree with you on that, it is pretty stupid that people are complaining that Kasumi is showing off her thighs and are missing the point that her outfit resembles a gymnastic's leotard. People get upset over the smallest things.**

**Revanchist: Haha. I could those ideas. Especially that one where Makoto is following Hiro and he decides to see a scary ghost movie just to stop her from stalking him. Pairing Ren and Hifumi? I mean, I do have someone in mind for Ren, depending on what I decided on for Hiro's pairing. **

**I do like the idea of him being the driver in Mementos. Maybe he switches Ren and Makoto on deciding on who's driving.**

**SkiesEagle: I will not be adding Kasumi. I mean, we don't really know much about her character besides what little we know. That's what I hear people were hoping, that we were getting a female protagonist but Atlus totally debunked that.**

**PRemington900: It honestly does feel good to be back writing Persona. Funny thing, I got that 'beauties like this at Shujin too' line from the manga. Oh, and thanks for the welcome back. XD**

**Walter Hitchcock: I forgot that still of that boy. Apparently, that's a human Morgana. You know because of the black hair, blue eyes, the yellow necklace instead of the scarf/collar. If you translate the Japanese text, I believe it reads: 'Now Lady Ann and I can, Mweheehee!' **

**Am I gonna have to fight Morgana for Ann's love? I'm not losing to no cat/human man or whatever he is.**

**ReallyLazyReader: Hiro and Haru will have a small interaction soon, it won't be much though. Oh, that's right, that counselor they showed off in the trailer is the new confidant called 'the consultant'. That's interesting to me because that's a new one we've never heard of. But I'm curious the consultant confidant is all about. **

**ShadowUzumaki55: You better believe that Makoto will have some questions for him. Yeah, those special scenario chapters with Hiro paired with another girl will obviously be separate from the main story. I might do them somewhere near the stories end or when it ends.**

**Naruto RWBY: I planned for Hiro to awaken his Persona after Ryuji. But they'll awaken them at different times though, you'll see how I do that. You'll have to read and see what happens when his father and sister find out he's a Phantom Thief. His sister, later on, finds out first though.**

**Guest: Ann x Hiro, huh? If it came down to that, I wouldn't mind pairing them together since Ann is best girl, to me at least. Even though all girls are best girl in their own way. And they do have a bit in common due to Kamoshida. Though, it all depends on how things go for this story. Anything can happen.**

**Grimraven.V: I'm not doing a vote. Because if I do that, then I'll just feel conflicted about the decision I made. I know it's probably a step down from the last story since in the second draft I pretty much established a pairing between Hiro/Haru. I was surprised most people had hopes of them being together. Maybe it was the fact that they were friends in school, or that Haru deserves a better romance than being with her jackass fiance. ****I don't know what it was why people wanted Hiro and Haru together so much? It boggles my mind a little.**

**I'll see you guys next time.**

**Later!**


	4. Half-Normal School Day

**I do not own Persona**

**It's owned by Atlus**

**I only own Hiro and his family**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

** Persona 5: Strength of the Wolf Pt.4**

* * *

**Date: 4/11/20XX - Day: Monday - Time of day: Lunchtime - Location: Shujin Academy, First floor**

Hiro followed behind Kamoshida. After walking a bit Kamoshida stopped and turned around to face Hiro. The man was quite tall so he looked down at Hiro. Hiro was tall himself for his age. 5'11, the same height as his Dad but Kamoshida was still taller than he was as he simply just towered over him.

"If your gonna ask me to rejoin the volleyball team..." Hiro began. "You can forget it. I told you after we won nationals last year I was quitting. We won and now I'm finished with volleyball."

Kamoshida scoffed. "It's quite a shame, really." he crossed his arms. "You had a lot of potentials to be a professional."

"That's nice of you to say..." Hiro said. "But I also have my reasons for wanting to quit." Hiro turned to leave. "If you excuse me, I need to get to class."

"Hold on, that thing I wanted to talk to you about was..." Kamoshida said placing a hand on Hiro's shoulder and getting close so he could whisper. "You can't go talking about how practice goes for the team, cause you know that nobody will believe you and you'll risk getting expelled and your hopes getting into college. You understand?"

"Yeah..." Hiro exhaled in irritation. "I understand." he began walking which lead to Kamoshida taking his hand off Hiro's shoulder.

"See you around, Nakamura!" Kamoshida said with a smile and wave. "Enjoy your day!" he was waving off Hiro as he kept walking. As soon as Hiro was around the corner Kamoshida put his hand down and his face turned into an angry glare. "Quitter," he muttered under his breath.

**-O-**

Ren walked upstairs to Shujin's faculty office. As he walked in Ms. Kawakami saw him. When she made eye contact with him she looked down at her desk. Ren assumed she was probably upset with him for being late.

"Unbelievable..." the woman sighed. "Being over half a day late on your first day...? Can you explain yourself?"

Yep. Like Ren assumed she was quite peeved. At least she wasn't incredibly mad. The real thing Ren was worried about was Sakura-san. He knew he was probably going to give him an earful when he got back. Ren thought of the only thing he could think of. The teacher might think he's just insane if he says it but oh well.

"I was in a castle," Ren stated seriously. He was more curious about her reaction.

"You can't be serious..." Kawakami turned around her chair as gave Ren a cold look, not believing him about the castle. "Will you pull yourself together? You were given fair warning yesterday. More importantly... I heard you were caught along with that Sakamoto-kun."

"'That' Sakamoto...?" Ren repeated. "He's pretty vulgar but there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with him. At least, I don't think so."

Kawakami sighed shaking her head. "Just don't get involved with him, OK? He's nothing but trouble. He wasn't like that when he was devoting his time to track and field though..."

_'Huh?' _Ren thought. _'Was Ryuji in track and field at some point? Maybe that's the reason why he's so hostile to Kamoshida?'_

"By the way..." Kawakami spoke. "I also heard you weren't just caught with Sakamoto-kun but also with Nakamura-kun."

"Do you know him?" Ren asked wondered if she knew Hiro or not.

"Of course I do," Kawakami confirmed. "I was his teacher for his homeroom class when he was a Second-year. Strange though, it isn't like him to be late. He's a pretty diligent student and he was on the Volleyball team during his First and Second-year's."

_'So, Senpai was on the Volleyball team,' _Ren deduced in thought. _'I wonder what made him want to quit? It might've been Kamoshida's doing?'_

"Anyway, breaks almost over," Kawakami said. "Classes will end at 5th period today because of the subway accident. I'll have you introduce yourself when class resumes. Follow me."

**-O-**

Ms. Kawakami guided Ren to her classroom, class 2-D. Ren could hear people talking about him and staring at him too. He decided to just keep facing forward and following Ms. Kawakami. When they got to the classroom, the bell rang for class to begin. As the students walked into the classroom they took their seats and Kawakami told Ren to stand next to the podium so he could introduce himself to the class. Among all the students he noticed Ann walking into the class. It was nice to have someone in the class he just me. She made eye contact with him, Ren wanted to wave but decided against when she immediately faced away from him toward the window. Ren realized that he probably made her mad with him for turning up late to school even though she saw him this morning.

"Being super late on his first day? Is he insane..."

"He looks normal though..."

"But he might slug us if we look him in the eye..."

"Settle down," Kawakami said to get everyone's attention bringing the chit-chatter to a halt. "Well, I'd like to introduce a transfer student: Ren Amamiya. Today, we..." Kawakami started to think of the best way to try to give a reason why Ren wasn't here at School. "Had him attend from the afternoon on since he wasn't feeling well. Amamiya-kun, please say something to the class."

"I'm Ren Amamiya," Ren announced to everyone. "It's nice to meet you."

"He seems quiet... but I bet when he loses it..."

"I mean, he was arrested for assault, right..."

"Uh, so..." Kawakami started as she was trying to bring the attention back to her. "Your seat will be... hmm..." Kawakami surveyed the room until she spotted an open seat behind Ann Takamaki. "Over there. The one that's open. Sorry, but can the people nearby share your textbooks with him for today?"

"This sucks..." a female student quietly muttered. A boy with blue-tinted hair with a mark under his eye, a band-aid, and another mark below the band-aid grimaced. Ren noticed the boy held this boy had this scared and guilty look. Ren put his hands in his pockets made his way over to his appointed seat.

"Lies..." he heard Ann say as he walked past her. Ren made eye contact with her and she with him. She probably figured out the school was lying just to save themselves since a new student arrived hours late on his first day.

"Um, hi..." Ren gave a small smile and wave a little but Ann groaned and turned away from him. Ren sat in his desk, as he did a pair of girls in the row next to his began to talk.

"Did you catch that? do those two know each other? Does that mean he hit on her before transferring here?"

"That means she's cheating on him with Kamoshida. Then again, this is Takamaki-san we're talking about..."

"For real. That side of the room is totally awful."

_'Wow,' _thought Ren. _'Are these people serious? I get that they're freaked out about me with my criminal record, but what do they have against Takamaki-san? She's really nice and what do they mean cheating with Kamoshida?'_

"Oh, right!" Kawakami said like she just remembered something important. "The volleyball rally's in two days. Everyone's just changed classes, so make sure you use that time to get to know each other. Well then, let's get class started. Who's on duty today?"

"Everyone, please rise..." said the blue-tinted haired boy as everyone stood up along with him. After, Ms. Kawakami began her class lecture. Ren was paying attention but still, though, he kinda hated the fact that those girls were using him to make more rumors about Takamaki. Ren slightly leaned close enough to whisper to Ann.

"Sorry," Ren apologized. Ann figured he was talking to her as she half-turned her head and gave him a smile. She thought the way she brushed him off earlier was a little harsh. When Ren spoke to her this morning, he was pretty nice. He definitely didn't seem like someone with a record.

"Don't worry about it," she said giving a small nod along with a smile.

**-O-**

**Day: Monday - Date: 4/11 - Time of Day: After School - Location: Shujin Academy, First floor**

The final bell rang for school to let out. Hiro walked out of his classroom, his bag slung over his shoulder with a hand in his pocket. Now, Hiro was always one to pay attention to all his classes but with what he saw today, how could he?

_'I can't get that castle and that other 'Kamoshida' out of my head,'_ Hiro pondered as he walked down the hall. _'No matter how hard I try, I can't quit thinking about it. Maybe talking to Amamiya and Sakamoto will help. I'm sure they're thinking about all as well. I'm sure Hamuko will be okay walking home by herself. She's done it before and she has her cell phone on her to call Dad or me if something happens. Okay so..."_

"Hiro!" Hiro froze in place hearing his childhood friend's voice.

_'Oh, crap!'_ Hiro thought as he swallowed a lump in his throat. _'__It's Makoto! She is really going to make me regret being late. She can't be that mad, can't she?' _Hiro turned toward Makoto, his eyes widened seeing the very unhappy expression on her face. She almost looked like she was trying to glare a hole in his head with the piercing look she was giving him. _'Okay, I take that back. She's PO'd.'_

"Listen, Mako I..." Hiro started as Makoto only walked past him.

"Follow me," Makoto said as she stopped walking, she turned her head showing off her glare again. "Now." She had a tight hold of her school bag's strap.

"Yes, Ma'am," Hiro said quickly and followed her. He could feel the eyes of some of the students as they walked past. They made it to the stairs and started walking on them. They were both quiet until Hiro spoke first. "Okay, listen, I can explain."

"Okay, then explain why today you showed up to school hour's late," Makoto said not even turning to face him. "You told me during our exchange of messages that you were on your way here. Also, did you even get the message's I sent you after."

"Say what!?" Hiro pronounced. "How many did you send?"

"About eighteen messages," Makoto said nonchalantly.

"Seriously...?" Hiro just realized he hasn't looked at his cell phone all until this time since his phone was pretty much broken at that castle. He took it out and sure enough, he noticed exactly eighteen messages. All said they were from 'Makoto N.'. They got to the top of the stairs to the second floor and finally, Makoto turned around to face him.

"Okay, all I can say is that I'm sorry," Hiro pleaded. "And it won't happen again. Please don't be too mad." he sighed putting his head down.

"I'm not mad," Makoto stated shaking her head.

"Wait, huh?" Hiro said quickly bringing his head back up. "You mean you're not mad?"

"No," she shook her head again. "Well, I was sort of. But I am actually more relieved than mad. Three students from Shujin go missing and don't make it to school at the end of lunchtime. I was worried something might've happened to you all."

"Really?" Hiro questioned scratching the back of his head.

"Hiro, I'm Student Council President," reminded Makoto. "It's my job to make sure all the students are safe and accounted for. I was told you were caught along with Sakamoto-kun. That was peculiar to me since the two of you have barely interacted with one another."

"We just kinda ran into to each other this morning by chance," Hiro explained. "Honestly, he may be pretty rough around the edges but he's not a bad guy."

"But what really caught my attention was that you two were also with the transfer student," Makoto mentioned.

"You mean Amamiya?" wondered Hiro.

"You've met him?" she asked.

"Yeah, we met that day I took Hamuko here to come to see you," Hiro said. "He's seem's pretty nice from what I can tell."

"I see," Makoto said slowly. "Interesting." she placed her hand on her chin in thought.

"What do you mean?" Hiro wondered what she meant.

"It's nothing," Makoto shook her head. "Just don't be late to school again and..." Makoto placed a hand on Hiro's shoulder. "Just be careful."

Hiro thought about making a joke at her but decided against. He figured Makoto was showing genuine concern considering they pretty much grew up together. He gave her a nod with his head.

"Okay, I'll be careful," Hiro said with a smile.

"Good," Makoto smiled back. "I have to go to the Council Room. I'll talk to you later, yes?"

"Sure," Hiro nodded as Makoto left. He let out a sigh as he placed his hands in his pockets. At least she wasn't completely upset with him. She was more worried than angry, that's what Hiro was more relieved about.

_'Alright, I need to talk to Amamiya and Sakamoto __about that castle,'_ thought Hiro. _'They gotta be thinking about it too.'_

With luck, Hiro saw Ren walk out of his classroom. After Ren walked out he noticed the school turn into the castle from earlier today and grasped his head in pain, feeling light-headedness. Ms. Kawakami stepped out of her classroom to check on him.

"Hm? What's wrong?" Ms. Kawakami asked making her way up to Ren.

"Is this... a castle?" Ren managed to ask as he fought his headache.

"Are you sure you're OK?" Kawakami asked. "Also, it seems like people are already talking about you, but I'm not the one who told them." she sighed irritably. "I can't even catch a break... why do I have to deal with this?"

Ren let go of his head and stared at Kawakami. He kinda felt bad for putting her through a bit of trouble by not showing up on time even though it wasn't by choice.

"You should head straight home without stopping anywhere," Kawakami suggested. "Sakura-san sounded pretty angry."

"OK," Ren nodded. "I'll be sure to head home."

"Oh, about Sakamoto-kun. Don't get involved-" Ryuji walked up to both Ren and Ms. Kawakami. "Speak of the devil..." She folded her arms. "What do you want? I heard the police caught you cutting classes today?"

"Ugh..." groaned Ryuji. "It was nothin'." He claimed as he rubbed the bottom of his nose.

"And you haven't dyed your hair back to black either..." The woman noted. Hiro was listening to their conversation unnoticed by them.

_"Man, Ms. Kawakami sounds so tired..." _Hiro thought. _"Don't know why it's a problem for Sakamoto dying his hair black. It was a good look for him."_

"Sorry 'bout that," Ryuji replied with a hint of sarcasm and then walked up to Ren. "I'll be waitin' on the rooftop." with that, Ryuji walked away from them toward the stairs to get to the roof.

Kawakami sighed for probably the one-hundredth time that day. "See?" she said to Ren. "That's why I don't want you getting involved. Understood?" Ms. Kawakami walked away from with a shake of her head. As soon as she left, Hiro stepped up to Ren.

"Amamiya, hey," Hiro greeted him.

"Hi, Senpai," Ren said.

"Glad I found you," Hiro smiled. "So, how was school on the first day for you?"

"Eh, it was okay," Ren shrugged. "Despite all the rumors I've been hearing."

"Oh?" Hiro said. "I'm sorry to hear that. Must be irritating."

"I'm getting by," Ren shrugged again. "Oh? I need to go to the rooftop."

"Yeah, sure," Hiro smiled. "You mind if I tag along? I need to talk to you and Sakamoto about earlier."

"I'm sure he'd be okay with it if I brought you since you were there with us," Ren stated.

"I know where the roof is," Hiro said. "Well, duh, I know where it is. It is the roof. Follow me." Hiro gestured for Ren to follow. They walked for a bit until they saw Kamoshida and Principal Kobayakawa. They stopped to listen to their conversation.

"Why did you allow a student like him to transfer here?" Kamoshida conveyed. "He's already started associating with Sakamoto. Even Nakamura is now hanging around them. A student with a criminal record, the culprit of an assault case, and a student who used to be on MY volleyball team. At this rate, it'd be pointless how much I contribute to the school."

"Now, don't be like that..." Kobayakawa declared. "This school counts on you, Kamoshida-kun. You are our star. Still, a steady build-up is necessary behind such brilliance as well."

"Your troubles never seem to end, do they, Principal Kobayokawa?" Kamoshida said with a frown but then smiled. "All right, I understand. I'll continue to do my best to answer your expectations of me. Oh, one more thing, sir? It's about Nakamura. With him being a former player on my team there's a chance he could talk about the Volleyball practice..."

"No need to worry," Kobayakawa said. "If push comes to shove, I'll be sure to inform him the consequences if he were ever to perform such an act."

"Thank you, Principal Kobayakawa," Kamoshida grinned proudly as and the principal went their separate ways.

"So, they have a plan for me in case I say anything, huh?" Hiro mumbled to himself while folding his arms.

"Wow..." Ren mouthed.

"What is it?" Hiro asked.

"I just think it's funny that the Principal acts like he's got a man-crush on Kamoshida," Ren expressed twirling a lock of his hair.

Hiro snickered a bit at that. "Yeah, he likes to kiss his ass too much," remarked Hiro. "Here, let's head to the roof. Don't wanna keep Sakamoto waiting too long." He started walking with Ren following him. Hiro turned his head and saw Yuuki Mishima just standing in the hall by himself. "Hold on a sec, Amamiya..." Hiro said as he walked up to Mishima. "Mishima?" The boy seemed to be spacing out. "Hey, Mishima?" Hiro snapped his fingers to get the younger boy's attention.

"Huh?" Mishima came back to reality and noticed Hiro. "Oh, Nakamura-senpai!" Mishima's body straightened up. "I'm sorry. I was spacing out, wasn't I?"

"Hey, it's okay," Hiro smiled as he simply shrugged. "It happens. Have you met, Amamiya?"

"Hmm?" Mishima turned to Ren as his eyes went wide as his face went blue with shame. "Uh..."

"We've met," Ren confirmed. "He's in my class."

"Really?" Hiro said. "Huh? Would you imagine that?"

"Senpai...?" Mishima spoke up. "Is it really true you quit the Volleyball Team?"

"I did," nodded Hiro. "Decided I'd focus my final year trying to get into college."

"I see..." Mishima said. "Is there anything else you both want from me?"

"Nah," Hiro said. "We're just heading to the roof right now."

"But, nobody's allowed up there..." Mishima commented.

"True," Hiro said. "No one's allowed up there but the Gardening Club from what I hear,"

"We're meeting Sakamoto-san there," Ren admitted.

"Oh, okay..." Mishima said. "Just head up the stairs and you'll get there."

"That's right," Hiro smiled kindly. "See you later, Mishima. Take care of yourself."

"Sure, senpai. Thanks." Mishima nodded. Hiro and Ren started making their way to the roof.

**-O-**

Both teens finally made it to the roof. Ren seemed to take in the sights of the roof. It was nothing special and he did notice the garden there in the corner of it. They found Ryuji in a chair leaning it back a little bit. They walked up to him as he soon as he saw them.

"There you are," he said to Ren. "Sorry for callin' you up here like this. I see you brought senpai here too."

"Yeah, bumped into him earlier," Ren nodded.

"I assumed you wanted to talk about what we went through in that castle?" Hiro said.

"Yeah," Ryuji nodded. "Oh, yeah? About Kawakami?" he said to Ren. "Bet she told you stuff like 'Don't get involved with Sakamoto.', huh?"

"Oh, my word!" Ren said with a fake gasp. "How did you know? You must be a psychic!" Ren then went back to his usual composed self. "Well, all she said was that your trouble."

Ryuji sighed. "Figured as much. Then again, we're in the same boat. I heard you got a criminal record. Everyone's talking about it. No wonder you were so gutsy."

_'Amamiya has a criminal record...?' _thought Hiro. _'That's the first time I've heard that? Though, it would make sense why Kamoshida would tell him to not cause any problems and why Makoto acted a little strange when I said he was a good guy. I stand by what I said but Amamiya certainly doesn't seem like someone with a criminal record. Wonder how he got it?'_

Hiro coughed into his fist to get everyone's attention. "Anyway, can we talk about that castle?" Hiro asked. "I can't stop thinking about it."

"Right?" Ryuji said. "What was all that that happened? You know, how we almost got killed at a castle... It wasn't a dream, right? You guys remember it too, yeah?"

"It couldn't be a dream..." Hiro said folding his arms. "It felt too real."

"Yeah," Ren agreed as he leaned against a desk.

"Well, just 'cause we all remember it doesn't mean much though," said Ryuji. "I mean, even if it was a dream, you saved me from Kamoshida. So yeah... uh, thanks, Amamiya."

"You saved me too," Hiro smiled. "Thank you, Amamiya."

"You're welcome, guys," Ren said. "It was nothing. Anyone would've done the same."

"Maybe," Hiro shrugged. "But you're being too modest."

"But man, that Kamoshida we saw there..." Ryuji said. "You prolly don't know about it, but there are some rumors about him." Hiro put his head down and stared at the ground.

_"Would they believe me if I told them...?" _Hiro thought. _"I was told to keep it all the secret but... I don't know?"_

"Kamoshida is that guy we met earlier, right?" Ren asked.

"Yeah, the ripped mophead," Ryuji said bitterly. "That asshole who was all full of himself at the castle. No one says anything against him 'cause he's some medalist who took the volleyball team to nationals. The way Kamoshida was king of that castle felt crazy real 'cause of that... I wonder if we can go back to that castle again..."

"Maybe...?" Hiro seemed to ponder the thought of going to the castle as well even though they were almost killed in there.

"Ugh, forget it!" Ryuji groaned standing up. "Must've all been a dream! It has to be!"

"It sure was a very realistic dream," Ren noted.

"'Realistic', yeah," Ryuji said. "But it couldn't have all been real."

"It is hard not to think about it," Hiro stated. "But we should stop thinking about it for now. Trying to figure out something you don't understand will give you a headache."

"Probably..." Ryuji sighed. "Anyway, sorry to drag you guys up here like this. That's all I had to say." he looked at Ren. "Ya know, we might be pretty similar. I have a feeling we'll get along just fine as 'Troublemakers'."

"Who are you calling a troublemaker?" Hiro asked raising an eyebrow.

"I mean, you're pretty much in the same boat, right senpai?" Ryuji said. "I hear some members of the volleyball team and students are avoidin' you since you quit the team, huh?

Hiro sighed crossing his arms. "Like the plague."

"By the way, is that rumor for real?" Ryuji wondered. "The one where it says you and Kamoshida were close to beating the shit out of each other?"

"We were not close to beating each other up, even though it did get a little heated..." Hiro informed. "You know how rumors are. Especially at this school."

"Yeah, for real," Ryuji agreed. "Though, that was pretty badass when you punched that other Kamoshida in the back of the head," Ryuji said smirking. "Gotta give you some points for that."

"Oh, thanks," Hiro smiled as he clutched his scarf. "It was nothing special. Felt good though."

"Hahaha! Anyway, I'll come talk if I see you guys around," Ryuji said. "Don't ignore me, all right?"

"You got it," Ren nodded.

"Seeya," Ryuji said and then took his leave and left the roof.

"We should start heading home too, huh?" Hiro said. "You wanna walk to the station together?"

"Sure," Ren said with a smile.

"Okay, let's get out of here," Hiro said. The two teens left the school to head to the train station.

**-O-**

Hiro and Ren walked to the station together. They made it to the train station and waited alongside other patrons for the train to arrive.

"So, Amamiya?" Hiro said, trying to make conversation. "Where do you live? What's your stop?"

"Yongen," Ren stated. "Yongen-Jaya."

"Yongen, huh?" Hiro said folding his arms. "That's right after my stop. I never asked it but must be tough moving to a new place, huh?"

Ren put his head down. A glowering look on his face. Moving to a new place is pretty tough with trying to adjust and all that. Ren has always wanted to go to the big city but he didn't think getting a criminal record was the only way he could achieve that.

"Yeah," He muttered softly. Hiro noticed Ren's expression. He assumed he probably asked him the wrong thing. Feeling he might've offended him, Hiro tugged his scarf nervously.

"Sorry," Hiro said. "I didn't mean to ask that."

"Oh no," Ren shook his head. "You didn't need to be sorry at all, senpai."

"Thanks," Hiro smiled. The train came by as Hiro and Ren boarded it. "Well, I do hope the rumors going on about you haven't been getting on your nerves."

"I've been managing so far..." Ren shrugged. "Though, most people are avoiding me and giving me weird looks but nothing to write home or cry about."

"Still, must be a tad annoying, huh?" Hiro said. "Glad to see you're not bothered by rumors." Ren only gave him a nod. The train was going to a stop which was where Hiro's stop was. "Here's my stop," Hiro stepped off the train. "Good talking to you, Amamiya. See ya tomorrow, yeah? Let's try to head to school and not end up anywhere else tomorrow morning too."

"Haha, yeah," Ren smiled. "Bye, Senpai."

"Later," Hiro stepped off the train and headed back to his home for the day.

**-O-**

Hiro walked up to his front door and opened it. As he got in, he took off his shoes at the front door. What was peculiar to him was that by the door it wasn't just Hamuko's shoes but also a pair of black high heels.

"Hamuko, you here!" Hiro called. "I'm home!"

"Yeah!" his sister answered back. Hiro was relieved she made it back home safely even though she always did. "I'm in the living room watching TV."

"Your older brother is home?" a familiar woman's voice asked Hamuko.

"Mmhm," Hamuko answered. "That's him."

_'Huh? Who's that?'_ Hiro wondered. _'Is someone else in the house with Hamuko? Did she bring someone over?'_

Hiro walked through his home and walked into the living room. There he found Hamuko sitting on their couch watching TV, but there with her was an unfamiliar middle-aged woman that looked to be in her mid 40's, she had dark-brown hair in a bob style, brown eyes, and light skin. She was wearing a tan apron, underneath she was wearing a white button-up shirt with her sleeves to her elbows, black bell-bottom jeans, and wearing a pair of slippers.

"Hello there," the woman smiled kindly. "Your Nakamura-san's oldest? Yasuhiro, yes?"

"Please call me Hiro," Hiro said to her. "What's your name, Ma'am?"

"Forgive me," the lady nodded. "My name is Kaede Ichihara. Your new housekeeper."

"A housekeeper?" Hiro asked.

"Yes," Kaede said. "Your father hired me. My job's while at your home are cleaning, laundry, helping you with homework if needed, and cooking. Speaking of which, in about an hour, dinner will be ready."

"You made dinner too?" Hiro wondered scratching his head.

"Yes," Kaede nodded with a smile. "I hope you like Katsudon."

"Yeah, that's fine," Hiro said. "I'm guessing my Dad isn't here?"

"No," Kaede shook her head. "Nakamura-san won't be home for a few days due to his work. He wanted to talk to you over the phone. He said you weren't at school for pretty much the whole day."

Hiro's face went blue. He figured his Dad would have a few words for him about him, Ren, and Ryuji being late to school.

"Did he want me to call him?" Hiro asked.

"He did," Kaede nodded in confirmation. "He wants you to call him as soon as you got home."

"Okay," Hiro said. "I'll do that." Hiro swung his school bag over his shoulder and pulled out his phone and started walking to the stairs.

"Hamuko, dinner will be ready soon," Kaede said the youngest of the Nakamura children.

"Okay," Hamuko said nodding as Hiro started walking up the stairs to his room.

Hiro walked into his bedroom and opening his door. He had a shelf stacked with old sports trophies since he played a lot of sports growing up, a couple of movie posters on the wall next to his bed, a closet with his clothes hanging from hangers, a small shelf stacked with books and a desk he uses for studying as well as using his computer. Besides his computer is a picture he took with his family. It was a picture from back when Hiro's mother, Junko was alive. She was a beautiful woman, with brown eyes and silvery-white hair which was who Hiro inherited it from. The picture was taken at the park, his mother, Junko was smiling and holding two-year-old Hamuko, Akitoshi was smiling with an arm placed around Junko and he had his hand on Hiro's shoulder with 10-year-old Hiro grinning in the picture and holding up a peace sign.

Hiro placed his school bag on a rack, letting it hang there. He walked up to his desk and picked up the photo and smiled at it. He stared at it for a bit until he sighed softly and placed it back on his computer desk. He removed his school blazer and white dress shirt leaving him in his light grey, v-neck shirt. He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and called his Dad's number. The phone rang a few times until his father answered.

"Hello, Dad?" Hiro spoke first.

**"Hiro..."** Akitoshi said. **"Would you care to explain to me why you were late to school today?"**

"Oh, so you heard, huh?" Hiro said. He could hear the slight disappointment in his father's voice.

**"Of course I heard,"** Akitoshi sighed. **"Shujin called the station. When I heard my son and a couple of other students were late I thought 'That doesn't sound anything like Hiro'?"**

"Yeah, okay, Dad," Hiro said. "I promise I won't be late to school. It won't happen again."

**"I hope not,"** Akitoshi said.** "And to think your sister and I all saw you leave this morning."**

"I know," Hiro said. "I promise though, I will not be late to school ever again."

**"Good,"** Akitoshi said. **"That's what I like to hear. Okay, I gotta get back to it. I'm gonna be gone for a while at the police station. I'm working a case so it'll be a while until I'm back home."**

"Okay," nodded Hiro. "Oh, hold on. About Ichihara-san?"

**"Ah, I assume you mean Kaede?"** Akitoshi said.** "I'm sorry I didn't I didn't say anything about her to you."**

"It's fine, Dad," Hiro said. "I was a little surprised. Why did you hire a housekeeper?"

**"Well, with you trying to focus on your entrance exam for college, I thought it'd be a good idea to hire her,"** Akitoshi said.

"Is Hamuko okay with this?" Hiro asked.

**"Yeah, she's fine with it,"** Akitoshi said. **"She was with me when I interviewed Kaede about the job so they know each other and she's familiar with her. It's also so I can have someone to pick up Hamuko from school and someone to cook dinner at home and clean up around the house so you won't have to do it all the time. She won't be there every day, just on Monday's, Friday's, and Sunday's. She has another job at another house on other days. Sorry for the surprise." **

"It's alright, Dad," Hiro said. "It's fine. I guess it will give me a little more free time for studying and whatnot."

**"Okay," **Akitoshi answered.** "I have to go. Say goodnight to Hamuko for me when you head to bed."**

"Sure thing," Hiro responded. "Talk to you soon. Night."

**"Okay, goodnight,"** Akitoshi said before hanging up his phone. Hiro sighed once again as he placed his cell phone on his desk. He heard his door creak a little and figured someone was behind it.

"Hamuko, I know it's you," Hiro claimed. "Come in." Sure enough, Hamuko opened the door. She had bashful look on her face, holding her hands in front of her. Her eyes looking at the floor.

"What's up, kiddo?" Hiro asked. "Need something?"

"No," Hamuko answered shaking her head. "Was Dad mad at you?"

"Hmm?" Hiro said. "Nah, he didn't sound like it though. He seemed a bit more surprised than mad.

"Okay," Hamuko nodded. "I'm glad Dad wasn't too mad at you. He sometimes treats our home like it's the police station sometimes."

"Maybe?" Hiro shrugged. "You know how Dad is, he's only trying to look out for us. And protect us and everyone else in Tokyo."

"Yeah," Hamuko giggled. "Dad's cool."

"That he is," Hiro smiled. "The coolest Dad around."

"Hamuko and Hiro!" Kaede called from downstairs. "The dinner's ready. Come and eat before it gets cold."

"Dinner, huh?" Hiro said. "Sounds good. From the day I had, I'm starving. I bet what she makes is better than what I slosh together." said Hiro with a chuckle.

"Your food isn't that bad, big brother," Hamuko laughed. "Come one let's go eat." The two siblings walked out of Hiro's room and down the stairs. "So, why were you late? Did you get into a fight before going to school?"

"Haha, not exactly," Hiro said tugging his scarf. "It's a long story. You could say I had a half-normal school day."

**-O-**

**Date: 4/11/20XX - ****Day: Monday ****\- Time of Day: Evening - Weather: Cloudy - Location: Leblanc **

Ren walked into Leblanc with his hands in his pockets. He assumed that Sakura-san wouldn't just let him pass by without saying something about him being late to school today. The older man turned to face Ren.

"Hey, I got an interesting call from your school today," Sojiro said to Ren the minute he saw him. "It's only your first day and you're already showing up hours late?"

Ren figured it would be pretty stupid of him to mention anything about the castle to Sakura. He'd probably just give him a funny look like he was crazy. So the best thing for him to say was sorry.

"It was an accident," Ren said nodding. "All I can say is that I'm sorry." Ren rubbed the back of his neck.

Sojiro only sighed in irritation while pushing his glasses up. "Look, just behave yourself. Your life's forfeit if anything happens. You understand the meaning of probation, right?"

"I do," Ren nodded once more.

Sojiro sighed again. "OK then," he said and at that time his cell phone rang in his pocket as he answered it. "Hey, what's up? Yeah, I just closed up shop. I'll be there in half an hour." he said with a smile until he noticed Ren still standing in the same place. "Hey, what're you standing around for? Go hurry on up to bed." Sojiro placed his phone back on his ear. "No, I just hired a part-timer. Don't forget to lock the door and turn all the lights off, OK?" Ren only gave the older man a nod and started walking upstairs. Sojiro placed his ear back to the phone. "Yup, I'm leaving now," Sojiro reassured. "I told you, he's a part-timer."

Ren went upstairs to the attic and decided to turn in for the night and head to bed. Ren never felt so tired in his life, he figured the exhaustion he was feeling must have been from all that happened today. With the school turning into a giant castle and his awakening to that power.

_'Persona...'_ Ren thought about the word he uttered to bring out that power, _'Persona'._ He was still confused about how he was able to even do that. He wondered if he could talk to Igor and those twin wardens again? Maybe they would have some answers to what that all was about. Ren decided not to think on it anymore and get some sleep, getting into his covers and beginning his slumber.

**-O-**

**[Velvet Room]**

Ren's eyes snapped open and found himself back in the jail cell in the Velvet Room. He sat and felt his head and also noticed he was wearing the same prison garb as before.

"About time you've come to," said the commanding voice of Caroline. "On your feet, inmate!" she ordered while banging the cell door with her stun baton.

"Our Master wishes to speak with you," Justine informed in her more polite tone. "It's for your sake that you take his word to heart." Ren walked closer to the cell door and grabbed hold of the bars so he could listen to what Igor has to say.

"First off, let us celebrate our reunion," Igor said in his calm and deep voice. "Oh...? You have awakened to your powers. And special ones at that. Your rehabilitation can finally begin."

"Now can you tell me what you mean by 'rehabilitation'?" Ren asked. Trying to see if he can get an answer of Igor so he can understand it all

"There's is no need to understand it all for the time being," Igor explained. "You will be training the power of Persona, which you have awakened to."

"Yeah, about that...?" Ren inquired. "I don't really understand it. But what is 'Persona'? Because that's what I was hoping to ask you."

"Personas are, in other words, a 'mask'-an armor of the heart when confronting worldly matters. I have high expectations for you."

Ren blinked with a look of confusion. "What do you mean by that?"

"There is no need to worry," Igor stated. "You will learn when the time comes. By the by... have you come to appreciate the Metaverse Navigator?"

"Metaverse Navigator?" Ren repeated.

"Using it will allow you to come and go between Palaces," Igor described.

"Palaces?" Ren repeated once more. He was hearing a lot of new information from Igor even though it was taking a little bit to process it all.

"I bestowed it to you as a means to train you as a thief," Igor said.

"The Metaverse Navigator is a gift from our master!" Caroline added. "You better take care in using it, Inmate!"

"Devote yourself to your training so that you may become a fine thief," Justine said.

"It must be disheartening to make use of the Metaverse Navigator alone," Igor mentioned. "Should there be others who would prove beneficial to you, I will grant it to them as well. This is all for you to grow as a most excellent thief..." The loud bell rang signaling that Ren's time in the Velvet Room was up.

"Hmph, it's time..." Caroline scoffed. "Go back and enjoy whatever rest you might have."

* * *

**Originally, this chapter was going to be a long one. We're talking over 14,000 words. But I cut it in half since I'm trying to pace the story a little better. Nothing really exciting happened, so this is more of a relaxing chapter from all the craziness back at Kamoshida's castle. **

**Reviews...**

**zack25king: Glad you're enjoying it. Something I want to try doing for the fights in this story is making the fights more free-flowing instead of just making the fights similar to how they look in the game. I'm especially going do it like that for when the characters have their awakenings and boss fights. Free-flowing.**

**As for pairings, I honestly might pair Ren and Ann together. I'll also most likely do the same for Ren and give him a second girlfriend. He is the protagonist. You gotta give him special perks XD**

**Clarent excalibur: Yeah, I may be leaning more towards Makoto for Hiro's pairing. Even though, they are only friends at this point. But who knows what I have in mind for them later. **

**Never thought about Hiro being apart of Operation maidwatch. If he is going to apart of it, that's exactly what he'd be thinking.**

**ShadowUzumaki55: I'll be keeping Hiro's second girlfriend a secret for now, but people are free to make their assumptions on who it's going to be.**

**ReallyLazyReader: That's another thing I'm trying to do. I'm trying to approve on the writing and make it a bit better than the previous story. I also felt the other story was kind of all over the place when it came to pacing. I hope the pacing is a little better here.**

**GreenD109: It's a surprise, isn't it? It's because I wrote chapters out before I started posting this, so I could know what direction I want to take with this story. **

**I thought about this and decided that Yasuhiro's Japanese voice actor is Kensho**** Ono. He voices Giorno Giovanna from Golden Wind.**

**Naruto RWBY: Hey, if Hiro's going to work with Ren and Ryuji, then he's definitely going to try and stop him, he'll totally want to the take him down after what he does to a certain character.**

**Alright, that's all I got for this one. Hope you come back to read the next one.**

**I'll see you guys next time!**

**Later!**


	5. Awakening! The Pirate!

**I do not own Persona**

**It is owned by Atlus**

**I only own my OC's**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Persona 5: A Wolf's Strength Pt.5**

* * *

**Date: 4/12/20XX - ****Day: Tuesday - ****Time of Day: Early Morning - Weather: Rain - Location: Leblanc Cafe**

Ren woke up the next morning and got dressed in his uniform. He got to speak with Igor about Persona's, and he even talked about Palaces and the Metaverse Navigator. Ren was still having a tough time trying to make sense of it all. Well, he wasn't going to give himself a headache about it and he had to go to school now. He gathered his school bag and went downstairs and ate his curry courtesy of Sojiro and thanked him for it. He flipped the sign to open per Sojiro's request. It was raining this morning so this time Ren took an umbrella as it was coming down pretty hard. On the way to Shujin Ren took the train, packed in with all the other passengers and listened to a pair of students chat about the recent accidents.

As Ren was on his way to Shujin Academy, he stopped on the way there as he overheard two female students talking.

"I feel so down when it's raining," said the first one. "I guess we're playing volleyball in the gym for PE today."

"I am not looking forward to that," answered the louder of the two. "Why'd I have to be on the same team as Takamaki?"

Ren looked at the girl's from the corner of his eye at the mention of Ann's name. What did Ann do to have these two girl's talk badly about her?

"She's only a magazine model because of her stupid ridiculous body. Being near her disgusts me."

_'Now she just sounds like she's jealous of Takamaki-san because of her looks?'_ Ren thought in annoyance. _'Though I have to admit, she is attractive so it makes sense that she's a model.'_

"Yeah, but we can't just ignore her, either, because of what happened with Mr. Kamoshida."

"Dealing with her is such a hassle. I wish she'd just not come to school."

Ren rolled his eyes in annoyance at the ignorance of those two girl's.

_'Wow,'_ Ren thought. _'Jealous does not even begin to describe what their problem is. Though, I have to wonder? Is there something happening between Takamaki and Kamoshida?'_

Ren decided to not think about it more and keep on heading to the school. He was surprised he made it safely to school without any incidents. He still wondered how he, Ryuji, and Hiro got to that castle in the first place. Ren's first class of the day was Social Studies with Mr. Ushimaru as the teacher. He was a stern man and assumed the students were raised spoiled growing up. He happened to call on Ren when he asked a question about Plato. 'A soul is comprised of appetite, spirit, and what else?' 'Logic' is what Ren answered. Doing that seemed to surprise the teacher and other students that he knew that question. Ren felt like he was getting smarter from answering that question.

**-O-**

**Date: 4/12/20XX ****\- Day: Tuesday - Time of Day: Lunchtime - Weather: Rain - Location: Cafeteria**

Hiro was sitting alone in the cafeteria eating some leftover Katsudon from dinner last night. Luckily, Kaede made enough for leftovers and she was also the one who took the liberty of preparing bento boxes for both Hiro and Hamuko. Honestly, he could get used to having a housekeeper, even though his father mainly did it so Hiro would have free time to study. Though, Hiro felt he had too much free time now that they did have a housekeeper.

Hiro unscrewed a bottle of green tea open and taking a sip until a few students, three to be exact. All of them were familiar to Hiro. Very familiar as they were boys he knew on the volleyball team. There was three of them and are known as Yamamoto, Hasegawa, and Miyazaki. Yamamoto had light brown hair, Hasegawa had black hair, and Miyazaki had dirty-blonde. All dressed up in their volleyball gear, they also had a few bandages that covered some bruises. For Hiro, it didn't take him to be a genius to figure out how they got those.

"'Sup, Nakamura," said Yamamoto. "Long time no see."

"Guys..." Hiro nodded, not even making eye contact with either of them. "What can I do for you?" Hiro never gave the three a glance.

"That's a little cold," said Miyazaki. "You used to be on the volleyball team with us and now you're acting like you don't know us."

"Since he quit the team he feels like he doesn't need to talk us anymore," Hasegawa spat. "Think you're too good for us now, Nakamura?"

"No, not at all," Hiro shook his head as he continued eating.

"That so?" Yamamoto sat down beside Hiro. "Kamoshida has been really training us hard since you left the team. So we can be better."

"By training, you must mean his solo 'special coaching'?" Hiro inquired. "It's hard stuff. If you can handle it."

"We all can handle it," Miyazaki folded his arms. "But you couldn't."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Hiro asked.

"You quit the volleyball team because you couldn't handle Kamoshida's coaching," Hasegawa mentioned. Hiro chuckled humorlessly. He knew damn well that wasn't true.

"You guys seem to forget that we took volleyball together in our first year," Hiro said. "You guys all complained that you couldn't handle it but me; I never complained. Not even once. So don't you guys dare tell me I couldn't handle Kamoshida's coaching. Because like you, I went through two years of that bullshit."

"Yeah, you did," Yamamoto stated. "Two years of being Kamoshida's pet."

"What?" Hiro glared up at him.

"He said you were 'Kamoshida's pet'," Hasegawa said. "That's right, you were the one who never complained about practice and did everything Kamoshida said. You were nothing but his pet. Not just that, you were his 'dog'. His dog on a leash that he got to do whatever he told him to."

"And for you doing all that..." Miyazaki began. "You were made Team Captain. Some of the guys on the team hated you when you were made Shujin's volleyball Team Captain."

"Well, they have no reason to hate me anymore," Hiro shrugged. "Since I'm not on the team and no longer Captain they can't hate me. Now, I have no more interest in talking about this. So, leave me alone..."

"Whatever you say, 'dog'," Hasegawa mocked. Hiro's expression turned grim as his eyes narrowed.

"I may have been his 'dog' but at least I don't have to deal with his 'torment' any longer," Hiro mentioned putting his hands together, resting them on the table.

"C'mon, you guys," Yamamoto scoffed. "Let's leave the 'dog' alone. We have to practice." Hiro stood up quickly; stopping the three from walking off and grabbed Yamamoto tightly by the shirt.

"Huh!? what-!?" Yamamoto confusingly wondered. Hasegawa and Miyazaki only stood there frozen eyes widened in confusion. Even other students within the cafeteria watched the scene.

"Stop calling me that," Hiro growled. "I... HATE being called that. Go ahead. You guys can talk bad about me all you want. But at least I'm no longer on a team run by Kamoshida. That bastard thinks he's in control of everyone at school and on the volleyball team and I hated that he thought he was in charge of me. I may have quit but I kept at it for as long as I could until I got tired of all the lying. Lying to my family... So, think long and hard before you call me 'Kamoshida's Dog' again." The boy's face had a look of fear. The anger in Hiro's eyes was enough to ultimately frighten Yamamoto. Hiro shoved him backward as Hasegawa and Miyazaki both caught him before he hit the ground.

The three all looked at each other and back at Hiro as he sat back down at his table. The three volleyball players all walked away, out of the cafeteria. After that, Hiro didn't feel like eating anymore. He could feel the eyes of the other students still on him inside the cafeteria. So he gathered covered up his bento box and his drink, placing both in his school bag and walked out of the cafeteria. Walking through the halls of Shujin, Hiro's walk was brisk. He clutched his school bag tightly in his hand. He didn't care if any other students were looking at him or not. Is that really how the other players felt about him quitting the team? That he was too good for them? They made Hiro feel as if he abandoned them. Now, that Hiro thought about, was that really what he was back then. 'Kamoshida's Dog'?

_'I'm not...'_ Hiro told himself.

_"Two years of being Kamoshida's pet."_

_'I'm not,'_ he told himself once more.

_"Not just that, you were his 'dog'. His dog on a leash that he got to do whatever he told him to."_

_'I'M NOT!'_ Hiro screamed in his head. He punched one of the nearby lockers in anger at the last thought. He was so infuriated that he didn't care who's it was. He finally brought his head up and noticed a lot of students were staring at him. Some turned away to avoid him, some kept their eyes on him and started to talk, what he also noticed was Makoto and other members of student council keeping watch in the halls, as they were also staring at Hiro. Hiro's eyes focused on Makoto, her eyes on him as well. When they locked eyes, Hiro breathed-in and out and walked into the bathroom. He walked passed a couple of students on their way out of the bathroom. He went straight to the sink, to cool down he splashed water in his face a few times. As he finished, he grabbed the sink putting his head down. He brought his head back up and ran his hand through his hair, running it back as it fell back over his forehead. He dried his hands and left the bathroom.

As soon as he walked out, he was met with the face of Makoto. Her arms were folded over her chest. Eyes trained on him, trying to ascertain what was even Hiro's problem.

"Is everything alright?" she asked him.

"Everything's fine," Hiro told her even though he was pretty much lying. "Why?"

"Well, besides the fact I came over here to ask you to not damage school property..." Makoto said. "I came to check on you."

"Right," Hiro scratched his head. "My apologies. It won't happen again." Hiro tried to get past her but Makoto stepped to the side, blocking his path. She did it a second time when Hiro tried to get past her once more. "Mako..." Hiro grunted in annoyance.

"Are you going to answer my question?" Makoto answered. "What's going on?"

Hiro let out a short sigh. He didn't want to burden Makoto with his troubles. She may have been his childhood friend but he felt that he shouldn't burden her with any of this. But knowing her, she'd try to involve herself. Not just because she was student council president but because they've been friends since they were kids. Luckily, the bell rang for classes to resume. Hiro tried to walk away until Makoto placed a hand on his shoulder stopping him from moving.

"Makoto, you are aware the bell rang, right?" Hiro asked. "It's time for classes to resume."

"I'm not letting off that easy, Hiro," Makoto snapped seriously. "Not until you tell me why you look so angry."

"Walk away..." Hiro growled. "Let it go."

"I won't," Makoto snapped stepped closer to him, her eyes glaring. "Talk to me now."

"Dammit, I said let it go!" Hiro suddenly shouted. Makoto stepped back, startled by Hiro's outburst. Her eyes widened in surprise, she covered her mouth. Hiro realizing what he just did, calmed himself down. "Makoto... I..."

"It's alright," Makoto said calming herself down. "Better not be late for class."

"But, I..." Hiro started. Makoto turned around and walked away from him briskly. "Damn it." He looked at the ground, shoving his hands in his pockets and walking off. Ignoring the various looks he was getting from the other students wondering what that was even about. Now, Hiro felt like a complete jackass. He just threatened one of his former teammates and now just turned his away his friend who was only trying to figure out what was wrong.

As he was deep in thought, walking to his classroom. He was brought out of his thoughts when he saw a girl drop her school bag on the ground, dropping the items from the bag. A few papers scattered on the floor and some mechanical pencils. Hiro figured some students just unknowingly bumped into her, didn't even stop help her. The girl's hair was chin-length and is an auburn color, her eyes were brown. She wore a pink turtleneck cardigan with short puffy sleeves and a long sleeve shirt underneath, she wore the standard black and red skirt, white tights with black flower patterns, and black Mary Jane shoes.

"Oh, geez..." the girl muttered as she went to pick up her scattered belongings. Hiro noticed no one was even stopping to even help her at all. He shut his eyes and sighed.

_'Alright, Hiro...'_ he thought to himself. _'Let's do our one good deed for the day.'_ Hiro stepped up to the girl and picked up a few papers and got on his knees to help her pick up the rest.

The girl seemed surprised that someone stopped to help her. She noticed that pretty much everyone ignored her yet this boy stopped to take the time to help her. Hiro picked up the rest of her things and handed them to her and got up to leave, heading to his class.

"Um..." the girl tried to thank him but he was already gone before she could. She stood up, holding her papers to her chest watching him walk off.

**-O-**

**Date: 4/12/20XX - Day: Tuesday - Time of Day: After school - Weather: Cloudy - Location: Second-year hallway**

Classes for today ended as Ren casually walked out of the classroom, hands in his pockets. When he was walking out he noticed Ann heading off.

"Hey there, Takamaki," Ren turned his head to the side and saw Ann being approached by Mr. Kamoshida. The man had a grin on his face as he approached the girl.

"You lookin' for a ride home?" Kamoshida asked. "Things have been pretty dangerous with all those accidents."

"Sorry, I have a photoshoot today," informed Ann. "It's for the summer issue, so I can't afford to miss it..."

"Hey, now..." said Kamoshida, placing his hands on his hips. "Being a model's fine and dandy, but don't work your pretty little self to the bone. You mentioned you weren't feeling well, right? Something about appendicitis?"

"Yes," Ann nodded. "I keep planning to go to the hospital, but I've been too busy... Sorry to worry you."

"You must be lonely too," commented Kamoshida. "I feel bad for keeping your best friend at practice so often. That's why I asked you out in the first place. Oh, and... be careful around that transfer student. He's got a criminal record, after all. If something were to happen to you..."

Ren was now thinking that Kamoshida was being a little overprotective. It didn't come off as him trying to be a gentleman, it just came off as plain creepy. Ren could visibly see Ann just waiting for the moment to get away from him.

"Thank you..." Ann said. "Please excuse me." Takamaki then walked away from the volleyball coach. Ren watched Kamoshida glare at the girl in annoyance and walked away himself.

Ren saw how angry he looked that Takamaki pretty much dismissed his chances for him to give her a ride. He had to wonder if he had a hidden agenda behind wanting to do so. Ren made his way down to the first floor. He was about to walk out until he looked to his right and saw Hiro heading to the entrance as well.

"Nakamura-senpai," Ren got his attention. Hiro turned his in Ren's direction as he approached him.

"Hey, Amamiya," Hiro said with a small wave.

"Hi, Senpai," Ren greeted. Ren noticed that Hiro looked a bit... well, he didn't quite know how to put it but he looked like he was stressed. "Are you alright? You look out of it today?"

Hiro shrugged giving a small smile. "I'm fine. How was school today?" he asked. "You know since we were actually here the whole day this time."

"Normal," Ren shrugged. "The day went by okay."

"Oh, good," Hiro said clutching his school bag by the strap. "You wanna walk to the station again today?"

"Sure," Ren nodded. Both of them made their way out of the entrance. As they walked out past the gate, Ryuji was standing next to it. When he saw the two, he approached the two of them.

"Yo," Ryuji greeted them.

"Hey, Sakamoto," Hiro nodded.

"What's up?" Ren asked him.

"I wanna talk about the castle from yesterday," Ryuji said folding his arms. "I tried tellin' myself it was all just a dream... I just couldn't do it. It's all connected to that bastard Kamoshida, after all. I wanna find out what's up with that place, no matter what." He focused his eyes on Ren. "And y'know, you're the only person I can come to rely on for this stuff. So, you in?"

Ren was surprised Ryuji would say he rely's on him. Honestly, Ren was still curious about that castle and what's it's all about. And he wondered if he'll still be able to use that Persona power as he could before. Since Ryuji asked if he was in, he decided he should go for it.

"Sure," Ren nodded smiling. "What's next?"

"Ooh... looks like I managed to talk some sense into you," Ryuji smiled. "How about you, Senpai? I mean, I'd understand if ya didn't wanna go to the castle again."

"Actually, I'll go with you," Hiro said clutching his scarf, making his decision already. "If that place is linked to Kamoshida then I want to know why and why that volleyball member was in there. So, let's go."

"Alright!" Ryuji said ecstatically. "Now I think we should retrace our steps from yesterday. In the meantime, you guys're walkin' to the station, right? Let's go together." The teens began making their way down the station. They walked down to Central Street and down the place they all met yesterday morning.

"If a huge castle like that really exists, I'm sure we'll find it in no time," Ryuji said. "When'd they build something like that though?"

"Not sure?" Ren shrugged.

"Beats me?" Hiro shrugged as well. Ryuji looked around the street.

"We walked that way from here, right?" Ryuji asked sounding unsure.

"I guess?" Ren said. "Maybe?"

"When you put it that way, I'm not so sure anymore..." Ryuji said.

"Well, we should see if the castle turns up," Hiro said. "If it even shows up, that is."

"I'm positive it will. All right, this way," Ryuji said. "Lemme know if you notice something." The three made their way through the alley just like they did yesterday but it wasn't the castle. It was still the regular Shujin Academy school building.

"Huh...?" Ryuji gasped. "We're at school..." he scratched his head in confusion. "There wasn't anything out of place along the way, right? I didn't see no castle either... We must've made a wrong turn somewhere. Let's try again."

"I want to go home," Ren confessed.

"Sakamoto..." Hiro groaned irritably. "If you're trying to lead me on a wild goose chase, I'm drawing the line there."

"C'mon, you gotta stick with me in the end," Ryuji tried to reason. Hiro sighed but he decided to give another chance if they can go to that castle.

"I suppose we could try to see if the castle appears again," Hiro said.

"Let's go," Ryuji said as he started walking off. They all returned the school looking the same way as always. They will not be finding a castle here.

"For real...?" Ryuji put his head down in frustration. "Is it smaller than we think it is? What do you guys think?"

"I don't know?" Hiro shook his head, trying to make sense of it. "There's gotta be something that made it appear? Like a trigger or something?" Hiro placed a hand on his chin. "Got anything, Amamiya?"

"Check your phones?" Ren suggested.

"Our phones?" Hiro asked.

"I already did that," Ryuji said. "I didn't see anything like it around here..."

"Wait a minute..." Hiro said. "Amamiya, didn't you have a navigation app or something on your own phone?"

"Navigation app?" Ren asked.

"Yeah, it sounded like one comin' from your phone," Ryuji remembered. "Y'know, didn't it say stuff like 'returned to the real world' or something like that? Lemme see your phone for a bit." Ren took out his phone as Ryuji immediately swiped it out from his hand. He started going through it until he spotted something strange.

"What's this eyeball-lookin' thing?" Ryuji said seeing the Metaverse Navigator as Igor called it.

"Eyeball-looking thing?" Hiro repeated as well and looked at Ren's phone.

"Cute logo, huh?" Ren said, a hint sarcasm in his voice.

"That's not how I'd describe it..." Ryuji frowned.

"Looks creepy too," Hiro noted.

"What a weird app," Ryuji commented. "Oh, wait, this is it!" he tapped on the 'app' and showed the screen to Ren. "I knew it-it is a navigation app! There's even your search history!" Ryuji exclaimed happily. "Oh man, I'm such a genius!"

"Not to burst your bubble, Sakamoto..." Hiro deadpanned. "But finding an app doesn't make you a genius."

"Wha-!?" Ryuji gawked.

"I think that was the bubble bursting," Ren joked with a small chuckle.

"Shuddup!" Ryuji shouted. "Anyway, let's try usin' it!"

"I dunno about this," Ren said. He was a bit skeptical about using. I mean, he does remember that Igor said something like, 'it will take him in between the real world and palaces'.

"Why? All we're doin' is startin' an app," Ryuji said trying to ease Ren's worries.

"How do we know if this even is going to work...?" Hiro said crossing his arms over his chest.

**"Kamoshida... Shujin Academy... Pervert... Castle..."** said a female voice from the phone. **"Beginning navigation."**

"There we go!" Ryuji said sounding excited.

"I can't believe this is happening...?" Hiro said shaking his head.

"Then, we went in a certain direction, an-" Ryuji said until everything around the three went red which Ren was the one to notice first.

"What the heck...?" Ren wondered looking around. "Are you guys seeing this?"

"Hey, what're you-" Ryuji question toward Ren.

"What's happening...?" Hiro wondered as he looked around too.

"Huh?" Ryuji finally noticed and took in the dark red color surrounding him and the other two. "What the hell!?" from the 'App' everything began to change.

Around the group, it went blurry for a second until it reverted back into focus. Ryuji, Hiro, and Ren who was now back in his outfit from when he summoned his Persona. From behind them, instead of Shujin Academy, the castle had now taken its place.

"Look!" Ryuji pointed. "It's the castle from yesterday!"

"We're..." Hiro was a bit speechless. "We're actually here!?" Ryuji started running until he was followed by Hiro and Ren, as they stopped in front of the castle.

"We made it back," Ryuji said. "That means what happened yesterday was for real too..." Hiro turned to look at Ren and noticed he was wearing his other outfit.

"Amamiya, your clothes changed?" Hiro said. Ren only looked down at his outfit.

He looked down at his outfit. "That they did," Ren said casually.

"That happened last time too, huh?!" Ryuji recalled. 'What's with that outfit!?"

"You jelly?" Ren asked smirking.

"I-I ain't jealous!" Ryuji uttered.

Hiro folded his arms. "I admit, I kinda am," Hiro claimed. "Amamiya does look pretty cool in that coat."

"Enough 'bout his outfit!" Ryuji shouted. "What's goin' on here!? This makes no effin' sense at all..."

"Hey!" a voice called from a corner. The teens all turned their heads at the source. It was Morgana, the 'cat' walking on two legs made it's way up to them. "Stop making a commotion." He told as he folded his arms.

"You...!?" Ryuji said.

"The shadows started acting up, so I came here wondering what it could be..." Morgana said. "To think you guys would come back to the entrance when you barely managed to escape."

"What is this place?" Ryuji asked. "Is it the school?"

"That's right," Morgana nodded.

"But it's a castle!?" Ryuji said stomping his foot.

"This castle IS the school," Morgana stated. "But only to this castle's ruler."

"The castle's ruler...?" Hiro asked tugging his bandana.

"I think you called him Kamoshida?" Morgana said. "It's how his distorted heart views the school."

"Kamoshida... Distorted...?" Ryuji said sounding confused. He looked at both Hiro and Ren. "Explain it in a way that makes sense!" He shouted at Morgana.

Morgana frowned. "I shouldn't have expected a moron to get it..."

"What'd you say...?!" Ryuji growled vulgarly.

"Relax, Ryuji..." Hiro said.

"AAAAAAAGH!" a scream of pain echoed from inside the castle alerting everyone.

"What was that!?" Ryuji said startled.

"It must be the slaves captive here," Morgana surmised.

"Slaves?" Ren asked.

"For real!?" Ryuji said. More frighteningly violent screams are heard in the castle. "Oh, shit... It's for real! We saw other guys held captive here yesterday... I'm pretty sure they're from our school."

"Most likely on Kamoshida's order," Morgana declared. "It's nothing out of the ordinary; it's like that every day here." He looked at Ren. "What's more, you three escaped yesterday. He must've lost his temper quite a bit."

"That son of a bitch!" cursed Ryuji.

"Ryuji...?" Morgana said as he stared at the blonde.

"This is bullshit!" Ryuji charged up the door and rammed it with his shoulder. "You hear me, Kamashida!?"

"Doing that isn't going to open it, you know..." Morgana said. "Still, it seems you have your reasons."

"Hey, Monamona!" Ryuji called stomping up to Morgana.

"It's Morgana!" The 'cat' corrected.

"Do you know where those voices are comin' from...?" Ryuji asked.

"You want me to take you to them?" asked Morgana as he stared at Ren. "Well, I guess I could guide you there. But only if he comes with us."

"Let's go," Ren nodded. Immediately deciding on his decision to venture into the castle once more.

"It's settled then," Morgana said.

"For real...?!" Ryuji grinned. "Thanks, man."

"What about you?" Morgana asked Hiro. "Are you going to come to?"

"I don't have much choice," Hiro said as he looked at his options but then made his choice. "Yeah, let's head in."

"All right, let's do this," Morgana said. "Follow me!" The 'cat' got the three to follow him to an open window.

"This is our infiltration point," Morgana told all of Ren, Ryuji, and Hiro. The four were standing in front of a window that leads into the castle.

"Ain't that where we escaped outta last time...?" Ryuji asked.

"That's right," Morgana nodded. "Not barging in through the entrance is one of the basics of phantom thievery."

"'Basics of Phantom thievery'?" Hiro repeated raising an eyebrow.

"How're we supposed to know about that stuff...?" Ryuji asked. Morgana quickly jumped up to the window.

"I agree," Hiro wondered clutching his scarf. "Neither of us know what you're talking about."

"I'll make sure to teach you as we go," Morgana said confidently. "Come on, follow me!"

"So uh..." Ryuji said to Ren and Hiro. "Sorry for draggin' you guys into all of this... But I can't forgive that bastard Kamoshida doin' whatever he wants! Really though, thanks for comin' along. I owe you guys big time!"

"It's no problem, Sakamoto-san," Ren smirked nodding.

"Yeah, don't sweat it," Hiro smiled. "Come on, let's get up this window."

**-O-**

Going through the window, lead them into the same room they escaped out of the last time. Morgana dropped down first, then Ren, then Hiro, and lastly Ryuji. The latter of the four realized what room they were in, remembering from yesterday.

"Man, this place is as creepy as always," Ryuji said talking about the castle as a whole.

"Mm-hm," nodded Morgana. "Now, make sure you do exactly as I say, all right?" Morgana started running out the door leading to the hallway. "Follow me!" The three teens started running out of the room to follow Morgana. They all found themselves in the entrance hall of the castle.

"I remember this place," Hiro said taking in his surroundings. "We set foot in this room when we walked into the castle the first time." The entrance hall then turned into the entrance hall of Shujin Academy for a second before turning back.

"What the...!?" Ryuji said with a startle. "I was seein' double or something just now...! Was that Shujin!?"

"It... it was!?" Hiro noted. "If you go to school there then you know that hall anywhere. This castle is the school, right?"

"I've told you before," Morgana reminded. "This place is your school. Regardless, we don't have time to stand around. Who knows when a Shadow might show up."

"There are more of those shadow's here?" Ren asked.

"In a place like this, there are always shadows," Morgana said. "Come on, this way!" The four ran into a doorway and ran down a long flight of stairs. They made it back down into the dungeon but then finally spotted some Shadows lurking around.

"Darn... I had a feeling there would be guards here." Morgana sighed. "It looks like we won't be able to avoid conflict from this point forward."

"F-For real...?" Ryuji said.

"Oh, well," Morgana shrugged. "I'll just teach you the basic's of battle right now. You had better remember all of this. As a rule of thumb, try to ambush as many enemies as you can. Attack them from behind whenever possible. You'll need to rip off their mask to momentarily break the control of the Palace ruler has over them. If you succeed, the enemy will be caught off guard, allowing us to jump in for a preemptive attack."

"So we gotta ambush 'em and go for the first strike..." Ryuji grinned excitedly. "All right, I got it!"

"Hold your horses, Sakamoto..." Hiro said with a shake of his head. "I don't think either you or me should be the ones attacking. It should be either Amamiya or Morgana."

"That's right," agreed Morgana. "Both of you guys don't have a Persona so just stay back and watch. Anyway, let's go." He said to Ren. "Sneak up from behind the shadow and rip off of its mask. Only then, we'll be able to take it out.

"Okay," Ren nodded. "I got this." Ren dashed right up behind the Shadow and leaped on it and reached for its mask. "Show me your true form!" Taking its mask off, the Shadow turned into a Crypt-Dwelling Pyromaniac.

Ren took off his own mask and summoned Arsene. He had his Persona attack with a cleave. Morgana summoned Zorro and finished the jack-o-lantern with a Garu, as it was the weakness. The shadow dissipated into the air, signaling it's defeat. After the fight, everyone followed Morgana's lead through the dungeon. They ran across a bridge, as they made it across Ryuji looked at a closed empty cell.

"Why ain't anyone here," Ryuji wondered. He stepped up to the cage to look at it until he turned back around. "Dammit, they were here before! Where'd they go!?"

"Quiet down!" Morgana shushed.

"Oh yeah, there were more of 'em further in too...!" Ryuji realized. Ryuji started running off to check the other cages.

"Oh, hey, Morgana...?" Hiro said getting the 'feline's' attention.

"Yeah?" Morgana responded.

"If those tortured prisoners aren't here, then where are they?" Hiro asked.

"They might have been transferred..." Morgana informed. Ryuji came back in a hurry, to Ren, Hiro, and Morgana.

"Crap, I can hear footsteps comin'!" Ryuji warned. "Lot's of 'em!"

"We should hide!" Ren suggested with a nod.

"Yeah, it would be a problem if they discovered us now..." Morgana agreed, he pointed at a door right by him and the three teens. "Hey, let's head into that room. We should be able to hide in there until they leave."

**-O-**

The four ran into a room to hide from the approaching shadows and closing the door behind them to hide away from them.

"The Shadow's probably won't come in here," Morgana said.

"Why not?" Hiro asked.

"There's a lack of distortion here, meaning the ruler's control over this area is weak," Morgana explained.

Ren, Hiro, and Ryuji all looked at each other and then noticed the room turn into a classroom from Shujin Academy, and then reverting back. Morgana jumped on a table in the middle of the room so he could be on the three Shujin student's level.

"Is this a classroom...?!" Ryuji asked.

"Now do you understand?" Morgana said. "This place is another reality that the ruler's heart projects."

"This is Kamoshida's reality...!?" Ryuji said. "Shit makes no sense at all!"

"One could say it's a world in which one's distorted desires have materialized," said Morgana. "I call such a place a "Palace."

"A palace, huh?" Ren said, putting his hands in his pockets.

"This is happening because he thinks the school is his own castle," Morgana said.

"Hold on a minute..." Hiro interjected. "The school becomes this 'castle' because this is how Kamoshida views it."

"Precisely," Morgana nodded.

"You have got to be freaking kidding me..." Hiro grunted in frustration. "That asshole."

"That son of a bitch!" Ryuji cursed angrily.

Morgana visibly saw how angry Hiro and Ryuji were getting, Ryuji especially. "You must really hate this Kamoshida guy."

"Hate doesn't even cover how I feel," Ryuji grunted. "Everything is that asshole's fault!"

"I don't know what happened between you two, but don't let your emotions get the better of you," Morgana said. "His lackey's are everywhere inside."

Hiro gave a Ryuji a concerned look. He understood why Ryuji has such hatred against Kamoshida. He remembers hearing about what happened between them when Kamoshida was assigned to coach the track team.

"You're curious about your outfit, aren't you?" Morgana asked Ren.

"Maybe a little," Ren said twisting one of his black locks.

"Yeah, I'm curious as hell about it too," Ryuji said folding his arms.

"How does he have that outfit?" Hiro asked.

"That's also because of this world," Morgana said.

"More stuff that makes no sense..." Ryuji said leaning against the wall.

"Anything distorts according to how a ruler pleases within his palace," Morgana said. "A school can turn into a castle like this, after all. In order to prevent such distortions, one must hold a powerful will of rebellion."

"A will of rebellion?" Ren asked.

"Yep and your appearance is a manifestation of that," Morgana stated. "It's the image of rebellion that you hold within."

"That you hold within?" Hiro repeated confused.

"I'm so fed up with all this!" Ryuji groaned. "I'm more curious about you than his clothes! What the hell are you anyways!?"

"I'm a human," Morgana said confidently. "An honest-to-god human!"

"No, you're obviously more like a cat!" Ryuji frowned.

"I must admit, Morgana, you look more like a cat than a human," Hiro said scratching the back of his head.

"This is, well..." Morgana stuttered a bit. "It's because I lost my true form. I think."

"You think?" Ryuji asked.

"But I do know how to regain my true form," Morgana smiled. "The reason why I snuck in here was for a preliminary investigation of those means. Well, I ended up getting caught though... Besides, I've been tortured by Kamoshida too! I'm gonna make him pay for sure!"

"What is this, a comic book?" Ryuji said confused. "This is seriously crazy..."

"Trust me, this is pretty bizarre for me too," Hiro agreed with Ryuji. Hiro seemed to have trouble wrapping his head around this whole thing as well. You only saw stuff like this in comic books or on television.

"If we're gonna keep going, we should hurry along," Morgana suggested. "I'll be counting on your skills this time too, rookie. Got it?"

"I'll do my best," Ren nodded.

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna force it all on you," Ryuji said. "I thought it might help, so..." Ryuji reached into his bag and pulled out a handgun. "I brought this just in case! It's a model gun though, so it only makes sounds!"

"That's a toy!" Morgana said eyeing the item in Ryuji's hand.

"Were you really just carrying that in your bag just now?" Hiro sighed pinching the bridge of his nose. He looked down at the handgun to inspect it. It indeed was, in fact, a toy, though from far away it could probably look real to someone. "Well, it looks somewhat real even though it is only a toy."

"Right!?" Ryuji grinned. "So, it'll at least fake 'em out. I brought some medicine too. You know what they say: 'Providin' is pre...something.' Huh? huh?" the blonde sounded rather proud of himself.

Hiro would never say this out loud to Ryuji but he now believed that underclassman has half a brain in that noggin of his. Well, he knew faux blonde meant well but he figured he probably doesn't think things through too well.

"So you were planning this from the start..." noted Morgana putting his paws on his hips. "Well, fine. If you're ready to go, we'll resume our infiltration."

"Suppose it's better than nothing," Ren shrugged and just took the model handgun and medicine from Ryuji's hands. "Thanks, Sakamoto-san. Good thinking coming in here prepared"

Ryuji smiled in pride rubbing the back of his head. Morgana and Hiro couldn't help but shake their heads at Ryuji grinning happily like a child. Throw a little praise the guy's way he acts like he's walking on air.

"Now that that's settled..." said Morgana, trying to get everyone back on track. "Hm, there are probably still soldiers making their rounds outside."

"Let's head out now," Ren said walking up to the door.

"There should still be soldiers outside," Morgana said. "Let's take note of the situation and get out there."

Ren opened the door slowly and saw three shadows outside conversing with each other. He figured it would be bad if they caught up to them so he only slightly opened the door.

_**"Hm, I thought I just heard something move over there..."** _said the shadow. **_"Guess it was just my imagination..."_**

**_"And what of the slaves?"_**

**_"They're all in the training hall. I'd assume they're all screaming in pain by now."_**

**_"Very well. By the way, I heard we may have intruders around. Stay on your guard."_**

"Did you hear that?" Morgana asked. Everyone stepped out of the room as all the shadow's left the area making it relatively safe for them to come out of hiding.

"They said trainin' hall, right?" Ryuji asked.

"I think that's a little further ahead," said Morgana. "Let's go."

"Something tell's me that that training hall is something not good," Hiro pondered aloud. "Hmm? Though, I have an idea what it might be."

"We'll know soon enough," Ren said. "Let's go."

Walking a bit further down, they saw a shadow standing guard. Morgana told the three about a palace's security level. If you let a shadow spot you, the security level will rise. With the explanation done, Ren carefully snuck up to the shadow and ripped off its mask. The Shadow's transformed into 'Gallow's-Flower'. Ren using Arsene and Morgana using Zorro defeated them easily. The four went through a caged door and found a dark hallway that was a dimly lit by torches on the walls.

"The trainin' hall's up ahead, right?" Ryuji asked.

"Yeah, it's a little further," Morgana said. "Make sure you watch out for any guards along the way." Ren ran out first, leading everyone in through the hall until they spotted two more shadows.

"Hold on..." Ren stopped everyone. "Shadow's up ahead."

"Good eye's, rookie," Morgana praised.

"Let's listen to what they're saying," Hiro said.

_**"Hey, have you seen anyone who looks like an intruder?" **_

_**"No, nobody yet..." **_

"Shoot... I had a feeling there would be a lot of enemies," Morgana said. "It'd be impossible to dodge all of them..."

"Then what do we do?" asked Ryuji. "Should we try and take 'em down like before?"

"It's not that simple," Morgana said. "We still have a long way to go, so we should be conserving energy."

"I-I see..." Ryuji said. "Sorry... Dammit, I wish I could fight... I'd at least be able to help out at least a little bit... But all I got was this toy from earlier... I'm such a loser."

"Don't put yourself down like that," Hiro told him. "How do you think I feel? I didn't even bring anything to even remotely help us."

"Do you mean that gun that you gave to him?" Morgana realized as he pointed at Ren.

"What about it?" Ryuji asked. "It looks real n' all, but it don't shoot anythin'."

"I see..." Morgana's eyes sparkled like stars. "Well, there is a way..."

"Do you have something in mind?" Ren asked holding up the handgun

"We'll use that to take down the enemies!" Morgana smiled.

"What!?" Ryuji mouthed. "Were you listenin' to me? It don't even shoot pellets..."

"Uh, will that even work?" Hiro asked skeptically.

"Only one way to find out," Ren got his gun ready, gripping it in his hand.

"You got the right idea, Frizzy Hair!" Morgana called. "Now, attack away!"

"Leave it to me!" Ren nodded.

"Wait, dude!" Ryuji said trying to stop Ren. "I keep sayin', it's not gonna fire anything!" Ren not even listening to Ryuji's warnings ran out and slashed hit the Shadow using his knife. Both Shadow's turned into the 'Beguiling Girl' and 'Gallow's Flower'.

"You have the gun with you, right?" Morgana asked. "Point it at a Shadow and fire!"

Ren aimed down the sights of his gun at the Beguiling Girl. Ren pulled down the trigger and was able to fire an actual bullet at the shadow. The toy gun firing bullets surprised Ren as it also shocked both Hiro and Ryuji. Ren stared at the gun in confusion thinking how he was able to even do that.

"What the hell...?" Hiro wondered. "It actually shot real bullets?"

"How about that?" Morgana asked Ren. "Surprised? Be mindful of how much ammo you have left?"

"Right!" Ren nodded. "Arsene!" He summoned and blasted the Beguiling Girl with an Eiha killing it.

"All right, I'll show you my weapon too!" Morgana smirked as he aimed a slingshot. He fired at the Gallow's Flower a few times. Ren finished it off with a Cleave. Ryuji and Hiro ran up to the two.

"Wow," Hiro said impressed. "That was just a toy and yet they shot actual bullets."

"That was crazy!?" Ryuji said in surprise. "How was that even possible!?"

"This is the cognitive world," Morgana said. "As long as our opponent sees it as real, it becomes such. It's a good thing it's realistic-looking."

"I don't get it," Ryuji frowned.

"I wasn't expecting someone with your brains to understand," Morgana smiled teasingly. "How about you, Frizzy Hair? Silver Hair? Did you get what I said?"

"It's simple logic," Ren said.

"I believe I got the gist of it," Hiro shrugged. "If the enemies you fight saw it as a real gun, it will work as one. Correct?"

"Wow, I expected only him to get it," Morgana pointed at Ren. "But you too, huh, Silver Hair? You do look a whole lot smarter than Blondie over here."

"Shuddup!" Ryuji snarled. "If it's better havin' something realistic, why do you got that slingshot!? And it was just as strong as a Goddamn gun! What about your whole cognitive whatever!?"

"W-Well, um..." sighed Morgana. "Fine, you can choose to understand it however you want. Oh, by the way, we should decide how we divvy up our roles in battle from here on out."

"He totally dodged my question..." Ryuji sighed.

"As you can see, there are quite a lot of enemies," Morgana said. "It'll be important to coordinate our moves well. I can keep providing intel for us, but you should decide how we fight Frizzy Hair."

Whaddya mean by "how we fight"?" Ryuji asked.

"Basically, what do we do in battle," Morgana said. "He can order us directly or let us decide what we do. Though I guess I'm the only other one fighting right now..."

Ren felt a little honored that Morgana was trusting him to decide how they fight but nodded, even though he was still new to this. They ran around for a bit. Defeated a couple of shadow's, nothing they couldn't handle and found a door being guarded by a soldier.

"A guard... I'm pretty sure that's where we need to go too..." Morgana said.

"So, what are you guys going to do?" Hiro asked. "Fight it?"

"Yeah, you guys gonna take it down again?" asked Ryuji smirking.

"I guess that's our only choice..." Morgana said. "But wait, this might be a good time... OK, I've decided! I'm going to teach you three a special way to fight enemies!"

"It's a new technique, isn't it?" Ren asked.

"Something like that!" Morgana said. "Let's go!"

Ren and Morgana charged to the shadow. Ren hit it with his knife and it transformed into another girl Beguiling Girl. They got into battle position's as Morgana began to explain.

"Look, there's a distinct flow to battles," Morgana said. "Let me show you. After all, seeing is... something? First, knock down all the enemies! Everything starts at that crucial step!"

"Got it! Arsene!" Ren summoned and hit the shadow with Eiha. Knocking it down as the shadow fell down from being weakened from the attack.

"All right!" Morgana said. "Now rush on in for an All-out Attack!"

"Sounds good!" Ren said. "Let's go!" Ren and Morgana both grinned as they both rushed the shadow and hit it from all directions. Ren landed on the ground in a crouch and stood up with a cocky smirk while pulling on one of his cuffs as the shadow gushed black sludge in defeat behind him.

"Mm, that went well!" Morgana said smiling. "You're definitely fit for this."

"Wh-what was that super-move thing you just did!?" asked Ryuji.

"I told you, it's called an All-out Attack," Morgana said.

"An All-out Attack, huh?" Hiro repeated, hands on his hips.

"If you manage to knock all the enemies down, you might be able to use it to beat them all at once," Morgana told them.

"That... that was over quick..." Ryuji said.

"It's a concentrated attack on defenseless enemies, after all," Morgana explained. "Now as I mentioned before, I want you to be our head of command." He told Ren. "You can decide when we use this. Strike the enemies weakness, knock them all down, then do an All-out Attack! That's the ideal pattern!"

Again, Ren was surprised Morgana was leaving everything up to him. Wouldn't Morgana be a better choice for all of that since has the experience doing stuff like this? He must be planning something and not telling him, Ryuji, or Hiro. With the explaining done, Ren led everyone through a door and up ahead there was another door with a banner up top that read: "Kamoshida's Training Hall of Love!"

"All right, this is it!" Morgana said.

"What the hell...?" Hiro said, examining the banner. "Kamoshida's Training Hall of Love...? What even is this...?"

"Right!?" Ryuji said. "What kinda bullshit is this!?"

"Only one way to find out," Ren said opening the door. The second they walked in, there is a voice. Or more like multiple voices as if they were crying in pain. The noise made them all kinda grimace in disgust.

"This voice..." Ryuji said. "Where's it comin' from...? Oh, is it comin' from over there!" The four ran their way to a cage and saw others what looked to be members of the volleyball team being beaten down by the Soldiers of the castle.

"Oh no..." Hiro said as he frighteningly stepped away from the cage.

"Dammit!" cursed Ryuji. "This is bullshit!"

"How many times have I told you to keep your voice down!?" ordered Morgana.

"But this is beyond messed up!" Ryuji said eyeing the cage. "How do I open this...?" he was looking around for a way unlock the cage.

"Stop it...!" called a voice. Everyone looked and saw a volleyball team member step up to the cage. "Leave us alone. It's useless..."

Another team member walked up. "If we stay obedient, we won't be executed like you guys!"

"You're tellin' me you wanna stay in a place like!?" Ryuji asked confusingly.

"Wait a minute..." Morgana said. "Were you planning on taking these guys outta here?"

"We can't just leave 'em here!" Ryuji argued.

"How stupid can you be...?" Morgana said.

"What...!?" Ryuji turned to Morgana.

"These are only humans in Kamoshida's cognition," Morgana explained.

"What are you saying...?" Ren asked. "That they're humans who are apart of this place and not really like us?"

"Basically," Morgana said. "They're different from you three."

"Huh, cognition?" Ryuji asked.

"It means there's no point in saving them!" Morgana snapped. "They're different from the real ones in the real world. You could say that these are extremely similar-looking dolls."

"The hell!?" Ryuji said. "Why's it gotta be so complicated!? So, the school's a castle, and the students are slaves... It's so on point it makes me wanna laugh." Hiro slowly walked back up to the cage. He gripped it with his hands and started watching the 'students' being tortured.

"This really is the inside of that asshole's head...!" said Ryuji.

"Still, this is horrible," Morgana grimaced. "It must mean he treats them as slaves in the real world too."

"In the real world too...?" Ryuji said. "Wait? I know these guys... They're members of the volleyball team-the one Kamoshida coaches for!" Hiro's hands tightened around the cage as he grits his teeth as he began shakily breathing.

"They must be physically abused every day..." Morgana said. "There's no way they'd be so beat up normally."

"Hmm?" Ren hummed with his hands in his pockets. He looked at Hiro curiously at the state he was getting in.

"Don't tell me..." Ryuji said. "They're going through similar shit in reality!? So, it might be for real... I heard that Kamoshida's usin' physical punishment. They're just rumors, but..." Ryuji turned to Hiro. "Yo, Senpai! You were on the volleyball team. Is the physical punishment thing really true?"

All of Ren, Ryuji, and Morgana all looked at Hiro. The silvery-white haired young man never looked at them. He just kept looking at the abuse taking place in front of him.

"Nakamura-senpai?" Ren asked. "It's okay if you don't want to say? It's alright."

Hiro let out a long, dreary sigh putting his head down. "It's... true," Hiro muttered. "It's all true."

**[BGM: Persona 5 OST: Regret]**

"How long has it been happening?" Ren asked.

"Ever since I was a First-Year," Hiro said in a low tone. "It was an everyday thing. It was why I quit the team and decided to never go back. Seeing this just brings back awful memories I want to forget. I... I was also a victim of the abuse too."

"Woah..." Morgana said with a sad look.

"Holy shit..." gasped Ryuji. "Well, if it's true, wouldn't this be somethin' to report to the police...?"

"It's not that easy," Hiro said folding his arms.

"We won't know unless we try..." Ryuji said bringing out his phone. "I'll use these guys as evidence. If it all goes well, we can take down that asshole Kamoshida...!"

"You're welcome to try..." Hiro said leaning his back the cage.

"So, if you were on that team of Kamoshida's...?" Morgana asked. "How come you kept quiet about the abuse?"

"Yeah," Ren agreed walking up to Hiro. "You're pretty much a key witness to it all. Why the secrecy?"

"After I quit I was told to keep everything a secret," Hiro sighed. "All because of Kamoshida."

"The school is willing to go to such lengths for Kamoshida?" Ren asked.

"Of course," Hiro said. "You saw how Principal Kobayakawa acts when it comes to Kamoshida. He just kisses his ass... the fat bastard..." Hiro growled the last few words under his breath.

"Ryuji...?" Ren said. "How's it coming along with those pictures?"

"It's not workin'!?" Ryuji said holding up his phone. "We can use the navigation app but the camera's a no go!?"

"A navigation app?" Morgana asked confusingly.

"We used that to get here," Ren said calmly.

"How about you guys?" Ryuji asked Ren and Hiro. Ren pulled his phone from his pocket. Hiro didn't as he just kept his head down, an angry look on his face.

"The camera app isn't working at all," Ren said as he tried tapping it on his phone.

"Then I guess that means our cell phones won't work at all while in this place," Hiro noted.

"So now what...?" Ryuji asked.

"Whatever you do is fine, but we're gonna caught if we stand around like this," Morgana said. "We need to head back!"

"Hang on a sec!" Ryuji proposed. "There's no other way... I'll just memorize their faces before goin' back home! Mkay, let's check the cells 'round there."

Walking to the right they saw another cell. more volleyball players running on a rolling track floor with a gold kettle of water hanging from the ceiling. There were three of them trying to run for the kettle but never succeeding. If they were to stop running, they would be crushed by a rotating roller pin with spikes.

"That seems a little accurate..." Hiro said staring at the display. "Back when I was on the team, Kamoshida barely gave the team any water breaks."

"Not givin' athletes water even for tough trainin' is a common thing in the real world too..." said Ryuji. "That sack of shit...! I'm gonna try and memorize all these guys' faces before we go back... Mkay, I'm done. Let's check and see if there're any more!"

The other three went to check the other torture devices inside the said 'training hall'. Hiro got a good look at the three players running. It was Yamamoto, Hasegawa, and Miyazaki. In reality, they may have not wanted anything to do with him anymore but seeing that was quite the hard scene to watch.

The final cell they went to involved a volleyball player being hung by his legs, arms tied behind his back. He was repeatedly being hit with volleyballs.

"The hell...?" Ryuji said eyes wide. "This ain't trainin' at all... It's just violence!"

"For me, it's pretty accurate..." Hiro said finally joining the others by the cell.

"You mean 'that' happens to you?" Ren pointed.

"Not exactly," Hiro shook his head. "If we mess up during practice. Kamoshida would tell us to stand still and he'll spike the ball straight into your face."

"Despicable...!" Ren muttered.

"Damn that bastard...!" cursed Ryuji.

Come on, Ryuji, hurry it up," Ren said. "We don't have all day."

"I know, I know..." Ryuji said. "Just gimme a sec. I'll memorize 'em quick."

"Hey, are you done yet!?" Morgana shouted. "We're cutting it close here!"

"Don't freak out like that, you goddamn moron!" Ryuji growled. "Anyways, I got all of 'em!"

"Then let's stop wasting time!" Morgana called. "We need to scram!" the other boys nodded in agreement and went to leave but they're departure was soon cut short

**_"Surround them!"_** ordered a commanded voice. **_"Don't let escape!"_**

"Tch, we've stayed here too long..."Morgana sighed. "We should've left while we had the chance." Four soldiers walked into the Training Hall of Love. The four soldiers surrounded Morgana and three teens. The last who entered the training hall was a golden soldier and Kamoshida.

**[BGM: Persona 5 OST: Blood of Villain]**

_**"You knaves again?"**_ Kamoshida groaned irritably. **_"To think you'd make the same mistake again. You're hopeless!"_**

"The school ain't your castle!" Ryuji said. "I've memorized their faces real good. You're goin' down!"

**_"It seems it's true what they say 'barking dogs seldom bite',"_** said Kamoshida. _**"How far the star runner of the track team has fallen."**_

"Star runner...?" Ren repeated.

"The hell are you gettin' at!?" Ryuji growled at Kamoshida

**_"I speak of the 'Track Traitor' who acted in violence, ending his teammates' dreams,"_** Kamoshida sneered. **_"Oh, I can only imagine the pain of the others who were dragged under your... selfish act."_**

"Ngh..." Ryuji growled as he looked at the ground.

"Violence?" Ren said in confusion.

**_"What a surprise,"_** Kamoshida commented in mock surprise. **_"So you're accompanying him without any knowledge at all? He betrayed his teammates and crushed their hopes, yet he still carries on as carefree as ever."_**

"That's not true!" Ryuji shouted.

_**"You've come along with this fool and are now going to end up dead,"** _Kamoshida said. **_"How unlucky of you. Go. Kill them all. Don't sully my castle with garbage."_**

"Here they come..." Hiro said, backing away as two soldiers approached the group and transformed into black horses with greenhorns sticking out of their white mane.

"Goddammit..." cursed Ryuji.

"Ryuji, Hiro move!" Morgana warned as he and Ren stood in front of the two to fight.

"Okay!" Hiro nodded in understanding. "Ryuji c'mon we gotta stay outta their way for this." Hiro went to go find cover but Ryuji only stood there still unmoving.

"Both you stay back!" Ren warned. "We'll handle this. Ready, Morgana?"

"Let's go," Morgana nodded. The black horses surrounded both Ren and Morgana. "Ugh... we're surrounded!"

"I'll kill you!" shouted the Shadow. "I'll kill you 'cause King Kamoshida told us! I'll kill 'cause that's what he wants!"

The three Shadow's surrounding Ren and Morgana were called 'Dirty Two-Horned Beasts'. The first one attacked Morgana with Lunge. The next attacked Ren with its horns. Ren summoned Arsene to use Eiha but it had no effect at all, as it had a resistance to it. Morgana, to try and fight back went for a Garu but wasn't able to finish off the beast. Another one of the black horses joined the fight soon after.

"There's more of them?" Morgana said. "This is bad..."

One of the Shadow's rammed Morgana with its horn's. With that attack, Morgana was down. As the 'cat' fell, he tried to pick himself up but couldn't and didn't have the strength stand up anymore.

"Morgana!" shouted Ren. At that time, another one ran at Ren to attack. Ren managed to dodge the attack and summoned Arsene and used a cleave. He defeated the shadow but another Dirty Two-Horned Beast hit Ren from behind with its horns. Ren soon joined Morgana on the training hall's floor. With the battle over, Kamoshida stepped in again. He hardly placed his foot on Morgana's back to hold him down.

"You piece of-" Morgana muttered angrily.

"Hey... get off him..." Ren said trying to get up but was pushed down by the gold soldier's own foot.

_'Dammit...'_ Hiro thought as he was currently hiding behind a crate. _'This is bad.' _He had no way of helping them as he could only watch.

**_"I bet you simply came on a whim and ended up like this,"_** Kamoshida remarked. **_"Isn't that right?"_**

"No..." said Ryuji, shaking his head.

_**"What a worthless piece of trash, getting emotional so quickly..."** _sneered Kamoshida. **_"How dare you raise your hand at me. Though it was only temporary, have you forgotten my kindness in supervising track practice?"_**

"Wasn't no practice-it was physical abuse!" Ryuji argued. "You just didn't like our team!"

_**"It was nothing but an eyesore!"**_ Kamoshida snarled._** "The only one who needs to achieve results is me! The coach who got fired was hopeless too... had he not approached me with a sound argument, I would've settled with only breaking his star's leg."**_

"What...?" Ryuji said eye's widened.

_**"Do you need me to deal with your other leg too?"** _Kamoshida mocked. _**"The school will call it self-defense anyway!"**_

"Dammit... Am I gonna lose again...?" Ryuji said falling on his knees, his head down and his hands balled into fists. "Not only can I not run anymore... the track team is gone too 'cause of this asshole...!"

"So that's why..." Morgana said in realization staring at Ryuji.

"Ryuji..." Ren muttered. Staring at the blonde with a sad expression. Before, he had no idea of the story behind why he had such a huge dislike for Kamoshida. Now it all makes sense why he did.

Morgana groaned in pain as Kamoshida put more pressure on him with his foot. "Once these two are dealt with..." Kamoshida said gesturing to Ren and Morgana "You're next. Hahahaha!"

"Ryuji!" Morgana shouted at the blond.

"Come on, Ryuji!" Ren shouted trying to crawl out of the golden soldier's foot. "You can't let him win! You got to stand up for yourself!"

Ryuji brought his head in realization and stared directly at Ren. He knew Ren was right. He couldn't let Kamoshida win. Even if something were to happen, he knew that he had to stand up and take the fight to Kamoshida.

"You're right," Ryuji nodded, his face serious. "Everything that was important to me was taken by him... I'll never get him back...!"

**_"Stay there and watch,"_** smiled Kamoshida. _**"Look on as these hopeless scum die for nothing because they sided with trash like you."**_

"No..." Ryuji stood himself back up. "That's what you are... All you think about is using people... You're the real scum, Kamoshida!" Ryuji started to slowly walk toward him.

**_"What are you doing?"_** Kamoshida ordered one of his soldier's. _**"Silence him!"**_

Ryuji pointed his finger right at Kamoshida. "Stop lookin' down on me with that stupid smile on your face!"

**[BGM: Persona 5 OST: Awakening]**

_**"You've made me wait quite a while,"**_ A voice said in Ryuji's head. Ryuji's eyes turned golden yellow as they shot open. The boy let out a scream as he held his head in pain.

"A-Aaagh...!" screamed Ryuji.

**_"You seek power, correct? Then let us form a pact. Since your name has been disgraced already, why not hoist the flag and wreak havoc...?"_** Ryuji kept screaming as he thrashed on the ground still holding his head, seeming like he was in pain. _**"The 'other you' who exists within desires it thus... I am thou, thou art I... there is no turning back... the skull of rebellion is your flag henceforth!"** _A blackish gray skull mask appeared on Ryuji's face as he brought his head up.

_**"What can you do...?"**_ asked the gold soldier holding down Ren. _**"Cower in fear and watch!"**_ the soldier starting bring down its sword to behead Ren. Ryuji got up clutching the mask trying to tear it off his face. As he tore it off blood gushed once he managed to forcefully rip it off.

"Hraaaaaaaaagh...!" Ryuji screamed as a blue pillar of fire enveloped him. A large gust of air blasted everyone backward.

**[BGM: Persona 5 OST: Willpower]**

Ryuji stood hanging his head and softly breathing as the fire dissipated away from him. He was wearing an all-new outfit. He wore a black jacket and pants with knee pads, a red ascot around his neck, combat boots, and a pair of yellow gloves.

From behind him, standing on a black pirate ship with an evil smiley face on the front is a being that looked like a pirate. It's outfit resembling that of one, with a pair of swords crossing its chest, a cannon for a hand, a pirate hat on its head and its face looking exactly like a skull. This was Ryuji's Persona. Ryuji brought his head with a defiant smirk.

_**"Ugh... this one as well!?"**_ Kamoshida muttered.

"S-Sakamoto...?" Hiro said watching from behind the crate.

"Right on... wassup, Persona..." Ryuji smiled. "This effin' rocks! Now that I got this power, it's time for payback..." Ryuji cracked both of his fists. "Yo, I'm ready... bring it!" both Ren and Morgana both got up and on either side of Ryuji.

_**"Don't mock me, you brat!"**_ The gold soldier turned into a red knight that rode on a black steed with a white mane.

"Blast him away... Captain Kidd!" Ryuji ordered his Persona with a point of his finger. Ryuji got a lead pipe from inside Captain Kidd's ship. He clutched it tightly in his hand, getting ready to hit a shadow.

_**"What troublemakers that King Kamoshida with such trifle matters!"**_ the shadow snarled.

"Kamoshida's cognition ain't changin', right?" Ryuji snapped back. "Then I'll act like the troublemaker I am! Let's do this, Captain Kidd!" Ryuji grabbed his mask and crossed his arms. On either side of the Guard Captain shadow, he summoned three two-horned beasts to aid him in dealing with Ryuji and the others.

"I knew you had it in you, Ryuji," Ren smiled at the blonde.

"I have you to thank, man!" Ryuji smirked back. "Let's go!" Ryuji tore off his mask. "Persona!" Ryuji called out as he summoned Captain Kidd, the pirate Persona materializing behind him. "Hrragh!" Ryuji screamed as he blasted Zio, an electric skill and zapped one of the two-horned beasts. The shadow was immediately weakened.

"Whip 'em, Persona!" he summoned Kidd once more. "Let's go, Captain!" he zapped the second of the two-horned beasts. Ryuji was on a roll as he ran up to the last one he zapped and killed it dead with his pipe.

"Get wrecked!" Ryuji shouted as he destroyed the shadow.

"Hey, Morgana!" Ren called. "We'll leave the big one to Ryuji! Let's finish off the other two!"

"Alright!" Morgana agreed. "Let's do it!"

"Arsene!" Ren called forth his Persona. "Cleave!" Arsene immediately brought down bladed feet down on the first shadow Captain Kidd hit with electricity, it dissipated signaling its defeat.

"Hey, let's take this one down together!" Morgana suggested to Ren.

"Let's!" Ren grinned confidently. He and Morgana aimed their weapons, Ren's fired his handgun and Morgana shot his slingshot. They were continuously firing their projectile weapons into the shadow. When they finished, both Ren and Morgana took their blades and cut down the shadow together in sync.

The Guard Captain shadow Ryuji was facing off against charged at him. Ryuji dodged out of the way to avoid the attack.

"Persona!" Ryuji called Captain Kidd and hit the shadow with a Zio. The attack just barely managed to defeat the shadow but it was certainly feeling like it was in trouble.

The shadow ran to attack Ryuji again but the boy was quick on his feet. He dodged the attack and countered with his own attack with his pipe. He did a jump-kick and then smacked the shadow with the lead pipe in his hand. Ryuji wasn't done as he summoned Kidd once more to finish the job.

"Ram 'em with Lunge, Captain!" Ryuji ordered his persona. Captain Kidd used a 'Lunge' attack as it slammed its pirate ship into the shadow. The red knight and its horse leaned over weakly in defeat.

_**"I am... a loyal subject... of the glorious King Kamoshida..."**_ the shadow groaned painfully. _**"So why... have I lost...!?"**_

"It just proves that Kamoshida ain't anything special," Ryuji smirked gloriously. With the fight now over, the shadow morphed back into the gold soldier and fell over on it's back defeated. Ryuji leaned over, grasping his knees, feeling exhausted.

"So, Ryuji had the potential too...?" Morgana said staring up at Ryuji.

"Damn..." said Ryuji trying to shake off the dizziness. "Is this how it felt when ya awakened your Persona?"

"No, not at all," Ren said with a shrug walking away. Ryuji's mouth gaped in surprise at Ren's nonchalant answer, trying to figure if Ren's even human. Ryuji tried to stand himself up and he had to use his lead pipe to keep himself from falling.

"Shit..." Ryuji grunted as he nearly fell.

"Careful," Morgana told him. "You just awakened your persona so you're probably feeling the exhaustion that normally happens when doing so."

"Right," Ryuji nodded tiredly. "Gotcha." as they were talking, Ren was looking around, he turned his head from side to side.

"Hey, senpai!" Ren called out. "You come out of hiding now. It's safe to come out."

Ryuji brought his head up as well. "Hey, wait a minute? Where's Kamoshida? Did that bastard get away again?"

"He must've got away while we were fighting his soldiers," Morgana explained. "Wait a second? If they're gone and Hiro's gone..." Morgana looked at Ren. "That means that..."

"They kidnapped him during the fight," Ren finished. "Damn it!" Ren growled as he placed his hands on his hips, putting his head down. "How could we let this happen? We got careless and they nabbed him when we were distracted."

Ren was angry that they were too pre-occupied fighting the shadows to even figure out that Kamoshida grabbed Hiro when he escaped the training hall. Ren knew that Kamoshida pretty much has it out for Hiro since he was apart of the volleyball team. There's no telling what he has in store for him. Since Hiro doesn't have a weapon or even a persona, he has no way of fighting back. Thinking on the only solution there is, Ren nodded his head.

"We have to save him," Ren said as he turned his head to Morgana and Ryuji. "Hey, Ryuji, I know you must be a bit tired but we're gonna need your help. Think you can do it?"

Ryuji smirked at Ren as he stood up slowly. "Are you kiddin'?" Ryuji clenched his fist. "We can't let senpai go out like this. Let's go save him!" he punched his fist into his open palm.

"I agree," Morgana nodded. "It would leave a bad taste in my mouth if we left Hiro to die in here. Kamoshida could be planning something bad for him. It could be torture or..." Morgana's face went serious. "Never mind, let's go."

"Okay," Ren said as he started walking off. Ryuji and Morgana following him out the training hall. "Hang on, senpai. We're coming to save you."

* * *

**This chapter was going to be much shorter but I added more to it. Plus, I thought it'd be cool if Ryuji awakened Captain Kidd in the Training Hall of Love. I got that idea from a couple of other Persona 5 stories. That means Hiro will awaken his own in the castle's main hall.**

**Reviews...**

**GreenD109: Yes, but here I felt that the strength arcana matched Hiro. I might make the velvet twins persona request similar to Elizabeth's own request in Persona 3.**

**PRemington900: With all the crap Kamoshida pulls, as well as the other acts he commits, later on, he deserves to get his ass kicked. ****As a matter-of-fact, We will definitely be seeing a lot more of Kaede in the future. **

**Heisei255: I hope so because it's happening next chapter.**

**streetlife34: Well, Hiro knows not to piss off Makoto. I mean, he did promise they'd spend time together before classes started and assumed she'd be upset with him. Hiro won't be spineless around her, he could get upset her if he wanted to. **

**ShadowUzumaki55: True, the second girlfriend is just an idea? People can reject it if they want and I'll more than likely agree to it. I could do a poll on it in the future. If it came to the second girlfriend idea, expect some drama but I plan for it all to work out in the end. Just a reminder, I'm still up for those alternate chapters for if Hiro is in a romance with a different girl.**

**ReallyLazyReader: Ah, I forgot to mention when Hiro's mother past away. But yes, Hamuko was quite young. Later in the story, it will be brought up how long it's been since their mother's passing.**

**Naruto RWBY: Yeah, Hiro will try to save Shiho from committing suicide. Kamoshida will get what's coming to him, don't you worry.**

**Well, that's all I got for this one. **

**I'll see you guys next time!**

**Later!**


	6. Awakening! The Knight of Treachery!

**I do not own Persona**

**It is owned by Atlus**

**I just own my OC's**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Persona 5: A Wolf's Strength Pt.6**

* * *

Ren, Morgana, and Ryuji ran out the 'Training Hall of Love' and into the dungeon. Morgana used dia to heal Ren since and himself since they took some damage from the fight earlier when they were surrounded. Ryuji was fine since he took no damage, though, he was a bit tired due to the awakening of his persona. As soon as they made it out of the training hall they heard a soldier's voice start alerting the other soldier's around.

_**"The watch post near the training hall has ceased reporting! Chances of intruder activity are extremely high! All personnel, increase security measures!"**_ A shadow came around searching until it walked away. To avoid being seen, Ren and other two hid behind some crates.

"We stayed here too long..." Morgana grunted. "We're gonna need to hurry if we're gonna find Hiro."

"Right," Ren agreed and looked at Ryuji. "How are you holding up, Ryuji?"

"I'm good," Ryuji stated as he tried to keep his breathing to a minimum. "Don't worry 'bout me. I can keep going."

"Good," Ren said. "Don't act like you're not tired. Once we find senpai we can get out of here and get some rest."

Ryuji stretched himself out and craned his neck. "Yeah, that sounds good."

"It should be safe now," Morgana said to the two. "We need to go now." Morgana ran out of cover followed by Ren and Ryuji.

While they were running, Ren spotted something on the floor. He reached down to grab it. There was no mistaking it, it was Hiro's bandana. Ren assumed that Hiro wore it every day. It must have been a gift from a loved one. Well, either way, Hiro left them a little trail to follow.

"Ren, hurry up," Morgana insisted as he turned around to look at Ren. Ryuji stepped up to him to see what Ren had in his hand.

"Yo, is that senpai's bandana!?" Ryuji noted. "It is! I mean, the guy pretty much wears it every day. But why'd he leave it just lyin' here?"

"It isn't much to go on but it also means he left us a small trail," Morgana said. "And he could also be close by." Ren stared at the bandana in his hand until he placed it in his pocket.

**-O-**

**[BGM: Persona 5 OST: Blood of Villain]**

Hiro was shoved down on his knees. In the main hall of the castle, he was surrounded by Kamoshida, two normal soldiers and one gold soldier. All three were brandishing their swords, pointing them at Hiro's throat. Making him unable to move while they had him in their custody, they even chained his hands in shackles so he couldn't fight back.

_'Kamoshida and these 'shadow's' didn't see me drop my bandana...' _thought Hiro._ 'I guess it could at least let the guys know I'm close by at least.'_

_**"King Kamoshida..."**_ the gold soldier said. **_"This prisoner keeps struggling. Shall we execute him here?"_**

_**"Might as well, though, I'd hate to get blood all over the floor..."**_Kamoshida then smirked evilly. _**"Haha! It can be decoration! To show anyone what happens when you defy me."**_ Kamoshida walked up, putting a hand on his golden guard's shoulder, making all three guards present step back. _**"Looks like you have no choice, Nakamura..."**_ Kamoshida came down to Hiro's level, staring at him in the eyes. _**"This is where your pitiful life comes to an end."**_

Kamoshida kept his grin until Hiro reeled his head back and head-butted the 'so-called king' in the nose. Kamoshida stumbled backward as he reached for his nose. From under his nostrils, a bit of blood seeped out as he lightly wiped it. He growled at Hiro as the teen smirked up at him. That smile really pissed Kamoshida off. He grasped Hiro by the hair on the back of his head and slammed his face hard into the ground. Kamoshida roughly pulled Hiro up by his hair once more to get him to look at him.

_**"You pathetic piece of shit!"**_ Kamoshida spat in Hiro's face.

"Go... to... hell..." Hiro managed to say through his breathing.

Kamoshida let go of Hiro's hair as he dropped to the ground. Hiro laid on the ground breathing heavily as Kamoshida walked away with his back turned as he kept an angry glare. He turned back around to Hiro, the turn exaggerating the movement of his cape.

"Senpai!" Slowly kneeling up and turning his head at the source of the voice. Hiro saw Ren, Morgana, and Ryuji dash into the main hall.

"Hey..." Hiro smiled weakly. "You guys made it. I knew you would."

"We're here, senpai!" Ryuji declared. "Let's get in there and kick ass, you guys!" The two normal soldiers stepped up to them to keep them back. Shielding them from coming any closer.

"Spoke too soon..." Morgana sighed. Kamoshida turned to face the trio that had just arrived.

**_"You all just can't help it at all, can you?"_** Kamoshida glared at them.

"Let Senpai go!" Ren tried to reason. "And I promise to show you mercy."

"I know I wouldn't..." Ryuji seemed to disagree with Ren's statement.

_**"Oh, should I be afraid?"**_ Kamoshida smirked. _**"Make sure they don't get past. They can watch their friend die due to their self-righteousness."**_ Kamoshida waved his arm in a wide arc._** "Execute him! Now!"**_

The gold soldier grabbed Hiro by his throat, lifting him up. Hiro started to try and squirm out of its grasp. He thought quickly and kicked the soldier in the chest causing it to stumble as it dropped him. Hiro landed on his feet, but before he had time to even react the soldier back-handed him across the face, reeling him to the ground.

"Agh!" Hiro shouted as he rolled on his back and landed on his face. Everyone looked over at him, the attention all on him. Morgana and his classmates staring down at him with expressions of worry.

_**"You're still trying to fight back, huh?"**_ Kamoshida seemed to smile more amusingly. "**_You always had a fire in you, Nakamura. I gotta say, you had the drive to be a winner. You never complained to me and did what you were told unlike some other members of the volleyball team! You could've been so much more! But you had to just go ahead and quit the team just to try to rebel against me like the rebellious dog you are! Such talent! Wasted! Now, look at you. A low life student just like all the rest. All because I spread a small rumor that you tried to assault me. It wouldn't have gotten out if it wasn't for the players of the volleyball team if I didn't... put them up to it."_** Kamoshida smiled as if he had won. Hiro's eyes widened hearing that last part.

"What...?" Hiro said in confusion. Hiro put his head down, his eyes going downcast. Now it all made sense. He had the volleyball team spread the rumor which was how it was able to leak so fast and it's why everyone avoids him at the school. "So it was you!" Hiro brought his head back up to glare at Kamoshida. "Well, it does explain how everyone figured that conclusion. But do you want to know something as well, Kamoshida? I quit that team because I knew what it all really was! It was just a way for you to show how much tougher you were than anyone else and so no one could fight back! You tried to break me but you didn't! I survived all of your abuse! I quit because I was tired of lying to my family, my friends and everyone else I cared about! I grit my teeth and toughed it out! I'm going to make you pay for everything you have done!"

**_"Damn pest!"_** Kamoshida growled angrily. The gold soldier kicked Hiro in the chest, knocking him onto his back. **_"Give up, Nakamura. Kill him now!"_**

He ordered his soldier as Hiro got back onto his knees. Hiro may have gotten to say what he wanted to Kamoshida but it didn't matter. He was going to die. He was never going to see his father and Hamuko ever again. Not just that, he'll never get to apologize to Makoto when she was only trying to help him.

_'Dad... Hamuko...'_ Hiro thought. _'Makoto... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.'_

"Senpai!" shouted Ren. Hiro turned his head to stare at Ren. His eyes wide with wonder, thinking what Ren was going to say. "Listen to me! You can't let it go like this! Kamoshida has not beaten you yet! So don't give up!"

Hiro was surprised by Ren's words. Hiro was pretty much ready to give up all hope and die. But here comes this guy he pretty much just met, tell him to not give up. Then again, if Hiro died here then who was going to make Kamoshida pay.

"Don't give up...?" Hiro wondered staring at Ren. "Yeah." Hiro nodded his head. "Yeah!" He said with more enthusiasm in his voice. "You're right, Amamiya. I won't let it end like this!" Hiro stood on his feet, just barely falling on the over but managed to catch himself before falling. He wiped his mouth and glared defiantly at Kamoshida with his brown eyes as he shouted. "I WILL NOT BOW DOWN TO YOU KAMOSHIDA!"

_**[BGM: Persona 5 OST: Awakening]**_

A sudden sharp pain shot through Hiro's head. His brown eyes turned golden yellow as he felt like his head was about to split open. Tears dripped from his eyes as saliva cascaded down both corners of his mouth. Another thing that made the pain in his head feel even worse was a loud voice that sounded like his own.

_**You've kept me waiting oh so long... You're finally ready to stand against this self-proclaimed 'king' ... this bastard harmed you and many others, you have already rebelled against him, the 'other you' believes it is time for a more direct approach... wouldn't you agree?"**_

Hiro just became more and more frustrated but he was agreeing with everything the voice in his had said. He was able to free himself from the chains around his wrist with a cry. Hiro gritted his teeth and fell to his knees punching the ground. The floor cracked from the hard punch from his fist, he brought up his hand as it obtained visible bruises, heavy sweat poured from his forehead as he started to calm down and accept the words of the voice.

"Yeah, I do..." Hiro said quietly, head down. "I agree."

**_"Splendid, sire! Time to forge our contract...!" _**the sharp pain returned once more as Hiro gave out a short cry, grabbing the sides of his head.**_ "I am thou, thou art I... thou have been called this bastard's 'dog' for far too long."_** A silver-metallic wolf mask appeared on Hiro's face. **_"Now, let us combine our strength and show them... Show them all how a dog really bites!"_**

Hiro stood up on his feet, using one of his hands to pull the wolf mask from his face. Pulling it was even tough itself. It felt like as if it were glued to face like some kind of sick, twisted joke. Hiro continued to struggle with the mask, feeling like it didn't belong there. The harder and harder he pulled the more it started to hurt.

"Graaaugh!" screamed Hiro as he finally managed to tear the wolf mask free from his face. As the mask came free, the upper part around Hiro's eyes was covered in blood as it gushed from him like a geyser. A pillar of bright blue flames enveloped him after as a huge burst of wind had nearly blasted everyone back. Shielding themselves from the incoming gust Hiro let off.

**[BGM: Persona 5 OST: Willpower]**

The flames dispersed with the wind dying down as Hiro was revealed to be no longer wearing his school uniform. He was wearing a white zip-up, tailed jacket that was zipped up to his chest with a furred collar, black gloves, grey, and white camo pants and silver steel-toed boots.

Behind Hiro appeared to be a tall, towering individual floating in the air. The figure wore a silver wolf helmet that had visible red eyes, it had long black hair that fell from behind it, it had a thin body, sharpened silver shoulder-pads, chainmail in a silver color, it wore a black chest plate, it also wore silver greaves on its legs and short black boots with pointed tips and the heels having short blades attached to the back of them. In its hand, it held a greatsword with a shiny blade and a long black handle.

**_"This one too...!?"_** Kamoshida said in confusion backing away behind the gold soldier. Ren, Morgana, and Ryuji all fell in beside Hiro, ready to join him in the fight.

"I knew you had the will to fight back too, senpai," Ren smiled at Hiro.

"Thanks, Amamiya," Hiro nodded smirking. "I owe you."

"By the way..." Ren said reaching into his pocket. "I think your missing something." He pulled out Hiro's grey bandana that he left behind for them to find him. Hiro smiled at Ren and took the bandana and tied it around his neck. Along with Hiro's outfit, his bandana even changed colors, a black and white checkered color.

"Let's take 'em out," Hiro glared at Kamoshida stepping forward with the gold soldier shielding its king. "You afraid, Kamoshida?" Hiro glared. "Heh! You should be! I'm no longer your dog! Today, I'm taking my life back!"

_**"Fool!"**_ The gold soldier bellowed stepping forward. _**"I'll make you eat the words you said to King Kamoshida!"**_ It transformed into another red knight on a black steed.

Hiro's persona reached behind itself and pulled out a longsword and dropped it. The blade's tip getting lodged into the ground. Hiro confidently stepped up to the sword and pulled it out, clutching it tightly in his hand.

"You wish to protect your 'king'? Alright, let's dance!" Hiro said tightly clenching his fist. "Now, Mordred! Let's obliterate them!"

Ren, Ryuji, and Morgana stood beside Hiro, ready for the fighting to begin. The two other guards transformed beside the Guard Captain. Changing into a pair of Dirty Two-Horned Beasts.

"Good enough," Hiro nodded. "Amamiya, if it's all the same to you, the big one's mine."

"You got it," Ren nodded. "We'll handle the small fry. That acceptable for you two?" he said to Morgana and Ryuji.

"Fine with me!" Morgana said punching his paws together.

"Let's finish 'em off!" Ryuji shouted ready to fight alongside his comrades once more.

Hiro holding his longsword in his hand, strolled up to the Guard Captain. The Guard Captain took the first move as it charged with its horse, going in for a Cleave. Hiro managed to evade the attack with a quick back-flip and land on his feet.

"Come to me, Mordred!" Hiro summoned ripping off his mask. "Cut them down!" Hiro had Mordred attack with a Cleave cutting the Guard Captain with its greatsword. The shadow seemed agitated, with a roar it ran at Hiro for an attack with its spear. Hiro blocked the attack with his longsword and knocked the Guard Captain's spear away. The Dirty Two-Horned Beasts went attack Hiro from both sides.

Hiro noticed the shadows attacking but never paid them a second glance as his focus was on the Guard Captain. The shadows never attacked Hiro as Ren, Ryuji, and Morgana blocked their advancement on Hiro.

"Where're you off too!?" Ryuji asked them. "Your fight's with us!" Ryuji summoned Captain Kidd. "Let's go, Captain!" He blasted Zio at the first of the Two-Horned Beasts, it became weak as Ryuji smacked it dead with his lead pipe as it dissipated.

The other Two-Horned Beast was giving Ren and Morgana a hard time. Not because it was tough but because the shadow kept moving around making it difficult to even attack it at all. It kept moving until a bolt of lightning suddenly zapped it. Ren and Morgana were confused as to what happened at all until Ryuji whistled to get their attention giving a thumbs up.

"Looks like you guys needed a hand," Ryuji cheekily said.

"Thanks for the assist," Ren gave thumbs up back.

"Yeah, yeah..." said Morgana not even caring at all. "We should take it out now!"

"Ryuji, join us for this!" Ren said. "It's time for an All-Out Attack!" Ren announced which seemed to excite Ryuji as it was his first time performing one. Ren, Morgana, and Ryuji all hit the Two-Horned from all sides, the repeated attack's with their melee weapons KO'd the shadow as it vanished away.

"Okay," Morgana said. "Not gonna lie, but that was easy. Now, all Hiro needs to do is finish off that shadow!"

Hiro was slashing at the shadow with his sword. The shadow either dodged or blocked slashes that Hiro brought down. Hiro sliced the shadow's horse on the neck causing it to flinch backward. In a hurry to finish off Hiro, the shadow charged at him. Hiro ran at it as well but used it to fake it out and jumped out of the way.

The Guard Captain quickly turned and dashed at Hiro again. He went for another Cleave which was then avoided by Hiro who rolled out of the way. The shadow went for another attack with its spear as Hiro used his longsword to cancel out the attack, knocking the spear away which caused the horse to stumble a little bit. Hiro ran at the shadow, longsword in hand and sped past the shadow and sliced it with his blade. Hiro was kneeling on one knee with his head down. The Guard Captain believed Hiro left himself open to attack but Hiro was ready to attack himself taking off his mask and summoning Mordred.

"Obliterate 'em, Mordred!" Hiro ordered. "Eiha!" the shadow was blasted with a curse skill. The shadow howled in pain as it almost slumped over, nearly defeated behind Hiro. Hiro stood up back up and turned around. "Sever it, Mordred!" Hiro called while aiming his palm toward the shadow and Mordred attacked with another Cleave finally finishing off the shadow as it painfully screamed.

_**"How could I lose?"**_ the Guard Captain cried. _**"I am a loyal subject to King Kamoshida."**_

"Your 'king' is going to regret the day he ever crossed me," Hiro remarked confidently as he stood up and sheathed his blade. "I can tell you that much. This is your 'king's' downfall." Hiro downed his thumb.

_**[OST end]**_

The Guard Captain reverted back to its gold armor and fell on the ground defeated. It fell on its back unmoving, signaling its own defeat at the doing of Hiro. Hiro nearly fell down to the ground but managed to stop himself from falling. He breathed heavily as he glared directly at Kamoshida who stared back.

"Hey, Kamoshitbag..." Hiro growled venomously. Ryuji couldn't help but snicker a little bit at the nickname Hiro made up. "Get your pink underwear-wearing ass over here. It's your turn."

"Whoa..." Morgana sounded like he was impressed. "So, not just Ryuji but Hiro had the potential too..."

"Yeah," Ren nodded his head with a proud smile. "They're pretty amazing, aren't they?"

"Hmm," Morgana hummed in agreement. "Not bad."

"You heard him, Kamoshida..." Ryuji said stepping up next to Hiro. "Even if you apologize now... we ain't forgivin' you...!" Kamoshida seemed frightened until he calmed himself down, smiling amusingly at the teens and 'cat' before him.

_**"I told you before that this is my castle,"**_ he said. _**"It seems you still don't understand..."**_

"What's more to understand...?" Hiro asked as his eyes widened at this next part. Out comes an all too familiar girl. Who he was Ann Takamaki wearing nothing but a skimpy purple bikini with black cheetah prints on it. "What in the world? Takamaki-san!?"

"Wh-What's she even doing here!?" wondered Ryuji wide-eyed.

"Oh!" mouthed Morgana happily.

"Morgana...?" Ren said to the cat wondering if something was the matter with him.

"Wha... What a meow-velous and beautiful girl...!" said Morgana.

"What's going on...!?" Ryuji asked no one in particular.

"Hmm?" Ren eyed the double of his classmate carefully. This doesn't seem like the nice girl he met yesterday. This one seemed different. Like it wasn't her at all. "Guys? Something seems off."

"I have to agree," Hiro said. "Something definitely seems wrong."

"Yeah," Ryuji agreed too. "Now that you mention it... but why is she even here!?" Kamoshida brought his hand up to caress 'Ann's' cheek.

"Hey!" Ryuji yelled. "Let go of her, you perv!"

**_"How many times must I tell you until you understand?"_** said Kamoshida. **_"This is MY castle-a place in which I can do whatever I want. Everyone wishes to be loved by me. That is, everyone besides slow-witted thieves like you."_**

"Takamaki!" Ryuji called. "Say somethin'!"

"Calm down, Ryuji!" Morgana told the blonde. "It seems that girl isn't the real one."

"Morgana?" Ren said. "Do you mean to say she's a...? What did you call it? A cognition?"

"That's right," Morgana nodded. "Like the other slaves, she's a being made from Kamoshida's cognition."

_**"Are you jealous?"**_ a cocky smirk made its way across Kamoshida's face. **_"Well, I'm not surprised. Woman aren't drawn to problematic punks like you."_**

"Dammit...!" Ryuji cursed through gritted teeth.

_**"Clean them up this instant!"**_ ordered Kamoshida as five more Shadow's appeared before the four.

"Uh oh..." mouthed Hiro with wide eyes. "I think it's time we left."

"Yeah," Morgana nodded. "We're outnumbered... let's scram before we get surrounded!"

"We're not gonna do anything and just run!?" Ryuji asked.

"Ryuji!" Ren shouted. "We have to go! You and even Senpai here just awakened to your Persona's and Morgana and I are also pretty gassed as well! If we fight right now we'll surely lose this time!"

"Looks like someone's got a level head," Morgana said.

"Come on, Ryuji..."Hiro said touching his underclassman's shoulder. "Amamiya's right. By the way, just remember that we're gonna make him eat his words and he'll repent for everything he's done." Ryuji stared into Hiro's eyes and nodded, turning back to Kamoshida glaring straight at him.

"We'll expose you for what you really are, no matter what!" Ryuji growled. "You better be ready for us...!"

_**"Hahahaha! I was beginning to get bored of torturing the one's here!"**_ Kamoshida gave a wide smile. _**"Come at me whenever you want, if you don't care about your life! Hahahahahahaha!"**_

"Ignore him," Morgana told the other three. "Let's go!"

**-O-**

The now four Persona users made it out of the castle. They were back in front of the entrance as Hiro breathed out with a hand on his hip, Ren huffed as he had both of his hands on his hips, Ryuji breathed for air as his hands were on his knees, and Morgana was lying down with his face in the ground.

"Anyways!" Ryuji said catching his breath and finally stared at his outfit. "I don't remember changin' into this!"

"You just now noticed?" Ren smiled. "It looks good on you."

"Uh, should I be happy about that?" Ryuji asked unsurely.

"While you may have doubts about your costume..." Hiro said admiring his own outfit. "I really like mine."

"What...!?" Ryuji shouted. "You actually like it!?"

"Well, yeah..." Hiro smiled. "I love the jacket," Hiro said admiring his white-tailed zip-up hoodied jacket. "Now, I will say I'm not a big fan on furred collar's..." Hiro gently rubbed the fur collar but shrugged. "But I guess I can roll with it."

"I think the fur looks good," Ren agreed.

"You know what?" Hiro smirked. "I think your right."

"Dude, really?" Ryuji shook his head and looked at Ren. "Then again, our outfits ain't as bad as yours."

"I don't know," Hiro said folding his arms. "I think Amamiya's is pretty cool."

"For real...?" Ryuji sighed.

"The black coat looks cool on him," Hiro said as he admired Ren's attire. "It's like it was made for him."

"And I agree," Ren said proudly.

"The eff..." Ryuji exasperatedly sighed at the two in disbelief. From inside the castle, the shadows were still on the search for the Persona users.

_**"Did you find them!?"**_ asked a pursuing Shadow.

"Quiet!" Morgana shushed everyone as he quickly sprang back up.

**_"No. Search that way!"_**

"So, what's goin' on?" Ryuji wondered. "I'm completely lost, man...!"

"I told you before," said Morgana. "When a Persona user opposes a Palace's ruler becomes a threat to them, this happens. It's to prevent you from being affected by distortions."

"Is this... a skull?" Ryuji said touching his mask.

"I was going to mention earlier that I like the mask," Hiro said touching his wolf mask. "I never imagined I'd get a wolf mask. Do you know what's the deal with our outfits and masks, Morgana?"

"Your appearance reflects your inner self," Morgana explained. "It's the rebel that slumbers within."

"'The rebel that slumbers within'?" Hiro repeated the words quietly to himself. He had no idea why but he liked the way that sounds.

"You still don't get it, do you?" Morgana asked toward Ryuji.

"Nope," Ryuji said slouching over.

"Then stop asking questions and accept what you see for what it is," said Morgana.

"Easy for you to say," muttered Ryuji. "Wait!?" The faux-blonde gasped as he soon realized. "We're in deep shit!"

"I said to be quiet!" Morgana snapped.

"What's the matter?" Hiro asked.

"Yeah, what's up, Ryuji?" Ren wondered what Ryuji was so worried about.

"We might've gotten away here," Ryuji started. "But we're screwed with Kamoshida at the real school..."

"That's quite sharp of you!" said Morgana. "For being an idiot. Relax. The Kamoshida in reality can't possibly know about what happens here. The Shadow is the true self that is suppressed- a side of one's personality they don't want to see."

"So we're OK?" asked Ryuji.

"Did the Kamoshida in reality remember about an execution?" Morgana asked as he waited for an answer but didn't get one. "There you have it."

"That's good to know that we're at least safe in reality," Ren said seeming relieved.

"Yeah," Hiro nodded. "That's somewhat a good thing." Hiro's says 'somewhat' as it's a keyword since nothing is safe with Kamoshida at Shujin Academy.

"All right!" said Ryuji. "Now that we know about that, all we gotta do is-"

"Wait," Morgana said. "I guided you as promised. It's your turn to cooperate with me." The trio of Ren, Ryuji, and Hiro all looked down at the 'cat'. "That's why I was super nice about teaching you idiots everything."

"Huh?" Ryuji said. "Cooperate?"

"Don't you remember?" Morgana asked. "I originally came here for an investigation. I need to erase the distortion from my body and regain my real form! That's why we must delve deep into Momentos and-"

"Whoa, hold up," Ryuji interrupted Morgana. "What are you goin' on and on about?"

"Yeah, Morgana, we have no idea what you're talking about," said Ren.

"That, I don't remember any of us agreeing we'd help you," Hiro said rubbing the back of his neck.

"Huh?" Morgana's eyes went wide. "Don't tell me... are you not going to repay the hospitality I showed you? Especially you!" Morgana looked up at Ren. "You're just going to up and leave, even though you're already apart of my master plan!?"

"I don't remember promising anything," Ren said simply as Morgana's eyes went wide.

"Exactly," Hiro said. "Amamiya or anything us really never promised we'd help you."

Morgana's face turned angry. "Is it because I'm not human...? Because I'm a cat...? Is that why you're making a fool of me!?"

"We're busy!" said Ryuji as he kneeled in front of Morgana. "Thanks for everything, cat. You've got guts, bein' a cat and all! See you around!" Ryuji smirked at Morgana and then ran off.

"Thanks a lot, Morgana," Hiro said smiling. "Not sure if we'll ever see you again but well, bye!" Hiro waved and then dashed off after Ryuji.

"Farewell, Morgana," Ren gave a smirk to Morgana. "You were a great help to us. Thank you very much." Ren ran off after Ryuji and Hiro.

"Hey! What the hell!" Morgana shouted. "Ugh, seriously! Why're you wrapping this up like everything's all hunky-dory!? Oh, hell no! Get back here! GRRAAAAAGHHH!"

**-O-**

**"You have the returned to the real world. Welcome back."**

Ren, Hiro, and Ryuji were all breathing hard as they were in the alleyway that leads to Shujin Academy. All showing signs of exhaustion, especially all the trouble they just went through.

"Thank god," said Ryuji. "We're back."

"That we are," Ren said his hands on his hips as he tried to catch his breath.

"I dragged you guy's around a lot, huh?" Ryuji said to the other two. "Sorry."

"It's no big deal, Sakamoto," Hiro said standing back as he was kneeling on the ground.

"I'm dead tired..." Ryuji said. "How you guy's holdin' up?"

"I'm so tired I could sleep for a whole year," Ren joked.

"I'm so tired I could sleep for a whole millennium," Hiro added.

"Me too," Ryuji replied. "But damn, if what we saw was for real, this is gonna get good!"

"How is this gonna get good?" Hiro asked folding his arms. "We were almost killed, you know?"

"It's gonna get good because I totally remember the faces of the guys Kamoshida was treatin' like slaves," Ryuji smiled. "Once we make 'em fess up to any physical abuse, Kamoshida will be done."

"Sakamoto..." Hiro sighed face-palming himself. "Do you honestly think this is going to work?"

"Dude, how do you know it isn't?" asked Ryuji. "It's not like you tried it. And you can help testify or somethin' since you were on the volleyball team?"

"Maybe?" Hiro said. "But..."

"So..." Ryuji looked at Ren. "Wanna help me look for those guys or any witnesses?" But as Ryuji looked at Ren he turned away. "Hey, so... if your thinkin' of layin' low 'cause you gotta criminal record, I don't think that'll help. Everyone already knows. They totally got you pegged as a criminal."

"Wait, wait, wait..." Ren said as he held his hands up gesturing for Ryuji to stop. "How did everybody find out?"

"Right," Hiro agreed. "The only way it could've linked that fast is... oh." Hiro put the pieces together in his head. "Kamoshida."

"Yeah," Ryuji growled. "Bastard opened his damn mouth!"

"A teacher did that...?" Ren asked.

"No one else besides a teacher could've leaked it that fast!" Ryuji said folding his arms. "It doesn't matter if its a student or club; that asshole just wrecks things he doesn't agree with. Just like he did with me...! No one'll take anything I say seriously. Still, those rumors about him gettin' physical are real. And after seein' Kamoshida's distorted-heart thing in person, there's no way I can just sit back!"

"Of course," Ren nodded. "Let's do it."

"I..." Hiro said getting Ren and Ryuji's attention. "I'm gonna help you guys."

"Woah, you sure?" Ryuji asked. "If you help us you'd be roped in with us as outcasts? You sure 'bout this?"

"I'm already an outcast after quitting the volleyball team, so hey..." Hiro shrugged smirking. "What have I got to lose?"

"Yes!" Ryuji said. "This'll totally work if there's three of us in this! I'm counting on you! Don't worry, I'm hyped about this too!" Ren felt a bond of trust coming from Ryuji as time froze for him.

**-O-**

_**[Interrogation Room]**_

_Sae's eyes opened as she had begun asked Ren some more important questions regarding his exploits as a Phantom Thief._

_"Acting as Phantom Thief would've been more efficient alone," Sae explained. "You could've gone about it that way. However, you did not. There are merits to having associates. That's what you decided. Am I wrong?"_

_"What can I say?" Ren asked giving a small smile. "I have a natural charm. People just flock to me."_

**-O-**

_I am thou, thou art I..._

_thou hast acquired a new vow._

_It shall become the wings of rebellion_

_that breaketh thy chains of captivity._

_With the birth of the __**Chariot**__ Persona,_

_I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall_

_lead to freedom and new power..._

Time went back to normal as Ryuji's stomach growled loudly. Ren and Hiro also shared the same sentiment and were feeling famished as well.

"Oh..." said Ryuji. "Right. I haven't eaten since lunch."

"Same," Hiro agreed. "If you guys are thinking of going somewhere to get something to eat I'll join you."

"Sure," Ryuji stated. "Plus, it'd be weird splittin' off now, so why don't we grab a bite to eat somewhere?"

"What kind of food?" Ren asked. "Got a specific place in mind?"

"Meat, man," Ryuji said simply as he went to pick up his school bag.

"We're going to the Beef Bowl shop in Shibuya, are we?" Hiro said picking up his own.

"Yep!" Ryuji grinned like a kid. "Just follow me. Hey Ren, I totally gotta hear about your past!"

**-O-**

The three teens went to the Beef Bowl shop at Ryuji's request. They sat down and ordered their food and eventually a conversation between the three soon became animated. Ren pretty much just talked since Ryuji wanted to know why Ren was sent here, Hiro explained to Ren that was okay if he didn't want to speak about if it was personal or not. But Ren insisted that was all fine. While eating Ren gave Ryuji and Hiro the short version of what happened that night when trying to help that woman from that drunk man.

"WHAT!?" Ryuji mouthed loudly in shock, pausing his eating. The other customers and workers looked in their direction. Hiro sighed after he finished swallowing some of his own food.

"Sakamoto..." he said. "Be quiet, man. We're in a public place." However, Hiro's advice went unheard as Ryuji was still angered after hearing Ren's story.

"The hell, man!" Ryuji cursed. "How much shittier can that asshole get!?"

"Oh, good grief..." Hiro rolled his eyes and continued eating his beef bowl. Hoping they don't get thrown out of the small restaurant due to Ryuji's shouting.

"Calm down," Ren told him as he paused his own eating. "It's all in the past. Nothing I can do about it now."

"Are you for real?" Ryuji asked. "If it was me, I wouldn't calm down until I punched that dick in the face."

"Though, I must agree..." Hiro joined in the conversation. "The way you talked about that guy, it made him seem like the biggest A-hole in the world. I gotta give you points for trying to help that woman out even though you ended up getting arrested. I'm sorry, Amamiya."

Hiro was indeed sorry. Only because that, Hiro thought it was strange that that man was able to get the police to just arrest him just like that. It should have been the other way around since Ren talked about the man man-handling that woman. Hiro knew that his Dad would never arrest a young teenager without hearing their side of the story first. Those cops could have been crooked and accepted a bribe from the man in Ren's story. Another thing Hiro's father would never do, people bribing the police just they could twist the story for their own gain.

"It's alright, senpai," Ren said. "There's nothing to be sorry for."

"I know," Hiro nodded. "It's just... damn, that's a load of crap the way all that went down."

"Right?" Ryuji agreed with Hiro and continued eating his beef bowl. "So... you left your home town and your living here now, huh?" Ryuji spoke with his mouth full. This act once again caused Hiro to groan in annoyance from Ryuji's horrible table manners but kept eating all the same.

"Yeah, pretty much," Ren answered digging into his own food with his chopsticks. Ryuji placed his bowl down and faced forward.

"We might be more alike than I originally thought," Ryuji noted.

"What did you do?" Ren asked him.

"I don't got a record like you do," Ryuji answered with wide eyes. "I mean, that's not the point." his face then went serious.

"Your gonna have to explain," Ren said. "In what way are we alike?"

"I guess it's how we're treated like a pain in the ass by the people around us," Ryuji explained in his own way. "Like we don't belong. I did something at school before too."

Hiro sat there listening to what Ryuji was saying. After Ryuji's 'incident' with Kamoshida it made him an outcast. Hell, Hiro was pretty much in the same boat. All thanks to that rumor about him trying to fight Kamoshida, it made the whole school think differently of him and him quitting the team put him at odds with the members of the volleyball team. Hiro nodded his head with a smile.

"Heh, I suppose you're right about the whole 'don't belong' thing," Hiro commented. "We should make matching jackets since we're all similar." Hiro laughed at his own joke.

"Oh, yeah," Ryuji looked at him. "You're just like us. Damn, sucks for you to go through all of that at school? Shit's annoying as hell, huh?"

"Yeah," Hiro agreed while folding his arms. "But I manage somehow." Ryuji raised his bowl and reeled his head back as he downed the rest of his food.

"The place your livin' now is in... Yongen, right?" Ryuji asked Ren. "It's rush hour on the subways. I suggest you kill some time before headin' home."

"True," Hiro nodded. "It's specially bad with that recent train accident happening. You want to walk to the station again, Amamiya?"

"Sure," Ren nodded as Ryuji looked at Ren's food and reached for some ginger on the counter.

"What the hell, man," Ryuji said as he placed the ginger in the Ren's bowl. "You've barely touched your food."

"What do you think you're doing?" Ren asked with a sigh. "I didn't want any ginger. And if I did want some, I would've done it myself."

"Just lemme do it," Ryuji smirked. "I gotta thank you for helpin' me."

"This is how you help me?" Ren asked in disbelief while raising an eyebrow. "By placing more ginger inside MY food? Yeah, great. Thanks." Ryuji and Hiro only laughed at Ren's response.

"Anyways, I got your back like you guy's got mine tomorrow on," Ryuji said. "As long as we do something about Kamoshida, I'm sure we'll all feel better about bein' at school."

"It'll be a tough thing to accomplish," Hiro chimed. "But I suppose the least we can do is try. By the way, since we're all gonna be doing this together. I let you guys call me by my first name. Feel free to call me 'Hiro'. That's what I let my family and friends call me."

"Just curious, but..." Ryuji wondered. "Why 'Hiro'?"

"It's a lot shorter than saying 'Yasuhiro'," Hiro explained. "It's kind of a mouth full so I just shorten it to make it easier for people."

"But would it be wrong to call our upperclassman by their first name?" Ren asked. "Or a nickname?"

"Not if I give you permission," Hiro shrugged. "Don't really care anyway. So go ahead, I insist."

"Yeah, we should make it easier to just call ourselves by our first names," Ryuji smirked at the idea. "So, I'll make it easy and let you guys just call me Ryuji. Does that sound cool to you, Ren?" Ryuji kept the grin on his face as Ren smiled at him.

"Sure," Ren said. "It sounds just fine, Sakamoto." Ren's smile was more like he was messing with Ryuji a little bit.

"Dude, for real..." Ryuji only frowned at him in exasperation. Hiro chuckled softly with a shake of his head.

"Well, it's a start," Hiro said. "I hope we get along."

"As do I, Hiro," Ren smiled.

"Oh, your gonna call him 'Hiro' but call me 'Sakamoto'?" Ryuji asked Ren in disbelief.

We should exchange numbers," Hiro offered. "I don't think it would hurt to stay in touch."

"Yeah, that's a great idea!" Ryuji said. "We should give each other our chat ID too." Ryuji and the others pulled out their smartphone's and exchanged contact info, their phones each letting off a small 'ping'. "Just you wait, Kamoshida," Ryuji growled with an angry glare. "We're gonna start right away tomorrow. First, let's hit up those guys that were slaves."

"Wait a second...?" Hiro pondered with his chin in his palm. "Isn't the volleyball rally tomorrow?"

"Yeah, the volleyball rally's tomorrow," Ryuji said. "Shit's recommended by Kamoshida. Makes me wanna gag."

"A volleyball rally sounds super unnecessary," Ren voiced.

"It is," Hiro deadpanned. "All it's gonna be is a way for Kamoshida to stroke his over-sized ego."

"Exactly!" Ryuji agreed. "Cause that's all it's gonna be. But thanks to that, we got no classes in the afternoon, and we can walk around unnoticed. Well, I guess we can work out the details tomorrow..."

"Yeah, should all start going home now," Hiro said as he placed his chopsticks down. "I've finished eating.

"We can't go yet," Ryuji smirked causing Hiro to raise an eyebrow. "Ren has barely eaten a single thing in his beef bowl." Ryuji nudged Ren's shoulder. "C'mon, you gotta eat more. There's ton's a ginger here." Ryuji reached to grab more ginger to place into Ren's food.

"For the last time, I don't want any ginger!" Ren snapped. "I never asked for it!"

"Don't be like that, dude," Ryuji kept his smile going. "Have some ginger. It's good for you."

"I don't care if it's good for me," Ren retorted pushing Ryuji's hand away to keep the ginger away. "I don't like it the stuff. I can't stand it."

Hiro smiled amusingly while shaking his head at the second-year classmen's antics. He had a feeling that hanging out with these guys is going to be like this all the time.

**-O-**

"See ya guys tomorrow," Ryuji smiled as he walked off.

"Bye," Ren waved.

"Yeah, see ya," Hiro waved bye as well.

"We should get going too," Ren suggested to Hiro.

"Before we go, Ren, I got something I want to say," Hiro said. Hiro figured it'd be good time to let Ren know something in case he forgot later.

"Hmm?" Ren hummed. "What's the matter?"

"Well..." Hiro said rubbing the back of his neck. "I just wanted to say thanks."

"Say thanks?" Ren wondered tilting his head. "What for?"

"Well, you know when I was going to be executed..." Hiro started. "I was honestly kinda afraid. I thought it was pretty much going to be the end. But when you told me I couldn't let it end like that. It gave me a boost and made me feel like I can really stand up to Kamoshida." Hiro smiled embarrassingly and rubbed the back of his neck again. "Well, what I'm trying to say is thanks."

Ren smiled whiled giving a nod. "Anytime, Hiro."

Hiro held his fist out for Ren. "As Ryuji said earlier: I got your back." Ren put up his own fist and bumped Hiro's. Everything once again froze like earlier.

**-O-**

**_[Interrogation Room]_**

_"Leading your own 'group' must have been quite a taxing job," Sae expressed. "I'd say you had help with that. Someone who had experience leading a team, to help coordinate it."_

_"Perhaps, Niijima-san," Ren shrugged folding his arms. "Or I am just a natural-born leader."_

_"You're not helping, Amamiya-kun..." Sae said leaning forward. "Just tell me who this person is."_

**-O-**

_I am thou, thou art I..._

_thou hast acquired a new vow._

_It shall become the wings of rebellion_

_that breaketh thy chains of captivity._

_With the birth of the __**Strength**__ Persona,_

_I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall_

_lead to freedom and new power..._

Everything went back to moving normally as Ren and Hiro put their arms down. Hiro smiled as he craned his neck and folded his arms.

"Awesome," Hiro nodded. "Let's head home. Because, boy, am I tired."

"You said it," Ren smiled. "Let's go." the two went off to the train station and boarded their train once it came to stop at the station.

**-O-**

**[Shujin Academy, Courtyard]**

Ann Takamaki was sitting on a bench with her best friend, Shiho Suzui. Shiho is a girl with brown eyes and black hair tied in a ponytail, that's held in place by a pink elastic band, her bangs are parted to her right, also in her hair are two grey hairpins, Shiho school uniform is without the black jacket and suspenders, instead she wears a beige turtleneck sweater rolled up to her elbows, as well as the standard skirt, on her right leg she had a black knee brace, and white running shoes with red designs, and white ankle socks.

Ann and Shiho were talking and enjoying each other's company. Though, during their conversation, Shiho expression became one of gloom.

"I-I haven't been sleeping well lately..." Shiho explained to Ann. "Whenever I close your eyes, I keep thinking about too many things..."

"Shiho..." Ann said downcasting her eyes. She was trying to figure out what to say to her friend to comfort her but she wasn't able to even though she was still scrambling for words in her thoughts.

"Nationals are coming up soon," Shiho mentioned. "So I keep thinking... should someone like me really be on the starting lineup...?"

Ann flashes Shiho a confident smile. "Don't worry," she said. "Just be confident in yourself! Your skills have been recognized! It's all because you work harder than anyone else!"

Shiho only turned to face her friend and slowly nodded her head.

"Yeah..." Shiho answered. "Volleyball's all I have, after all..."

"More importantly..." Ann wondered concernedly. "Was that injury, OK? It looked really swollen."

"No, it's nothing," Shiho hurriedly declared. "It's normal... Especially since a meet's coming up..." Ann only exhaled as she couldn't help but stare wordlessly at her best friend. Yuuki Mishima soon approached the two girls.

"Sorry to interrupt, Suzui," Mishima apologized. "Um... Mr. Kamoshida told me to get you."

"Huh?" Mishima's words seemed to startle Shiho. "What does he want...?"

"He didn't say..." Mishima muttered. Shiho's breathed hitched a bit but managed to find her words.

"Ann, I..." Shiho said. Ann was quiet herself until she smiled.

"It'll be fine!" Ann claimed. "I bet it's a meeting about the starting lineup or something."

Shiho's eyes were still pointed at the ground until she looked at Ann. "Yeah." she finally smiled even though it was easy to tell it was forced. She stood from the bench with Ann doing so too. "Well, I better go..."

"Yup. Good luck!" Ann smiled pumping her fist. Shiho gave her a slow nod and began walking away with Mishima following her. "Hang in there, Shiho..." Ann said as she watched her friend walk off. She really wished she had something she could say to make her friend feel better. Ann will still try to be there for her friend, no matter what. Even if her words are only shallow promises that things will get better.

**-O-**

"I'm home," Hiro announced coming through his house door taking off his shoes. "Hamuko, you here?"

"Yep, I'm here!" Hamuko called back. Hiro figured she was in the kitchen. He carefully walked through his home as he was feeling a tad sluggish. His tiredness must have been from going to the castle as well as awakening his Persona. As he walked in, he found his kid sister in the kitchen doing her homework.

"Hey, kiddo," Hiro gave his sister a smile. "How was school?"

"I had a pretty good day," Hamuko said. "Well, it was just normal, is all."

"I see, that's good," Hiro said. "Are you here by yourself? Where's Kaede-san?" asked Hiro until he realized.

"She isn't here today," Hamuko shook her head.

"Oh, that's right," Hiro realized. "She only works at our house Monday's, Friday's and Sunday's." Hiro soon yawned covering his mouth and started stretching his arms, rotating them.

"Are you okay, bro?" Hamuko wondered in concern as she got up from her chair. "You look tired?"

"I am a little," Hiro said as he finished stretching. "I had a... busy day today. Let's just leave it at that. Are you hungry? I think we have some instant ramen?"

"No, I can make it," Hamuko said. "Instant ramen is easy to make. I think you should go to sleep because you look exhausted."

"You think so?" Hiro asked.

"I do," Hamuko said seriously. Hiro studied his sister's serious expression. Hamuko may be young but she is a smart girl. He was amazed she was able to visibly see that he was exhausted. "You should go upstairs and get some sleep. I'll make you some ramen too. I'll wake you up and let you know when it's ready."

"Hamuko, you don't have to," Hiro reasoned. "I ate already. But thanks, kiddo. I'll go head to bed now."

"Okay," Hamuko nodded. "Good."

"Yeah," Hiro said as he started trudging up the stairs and walked into his room. As he closed the door behind himself. Unceremoniously dropping his bag on the floor, taking off his school jacket and dropping that too and fell face first onto his bed. He rolled himself onto his back and sighed.

_'Damn, what a strange day?'_ Hiro thought as he pulled out his phone. He eyed the screen as he started going into his contacts. He stopped on Makoto's number and began to contemplate whether or not he should call or message her. He honestly felt that he should just to apologize but decided against it. Besides, she made no effort to get in touch with him either. He tapped on her name and was about to hit the dial button but decided that it would best to just wait till tomorrow so he could apologize to her personally. He sighed as he put his cell phone on his phone charger and laid back down. He placed his hands behind his head with another sigh. Learning how Kamoshida envisioned the school as a castle and how he views the volleyball team. Him awakening his own Persona. For Hiro, things just seem to feel complicated with what's going on right now. If he only knew this was only the beginning what else was going to transpire.

* * *

**Okay, this chapter was going to be longer but I chopped it in half. I think after the next chapter I'll be taking a short break off this story to work on other ones. Though I have fun writing for this story, I hope people enjoy reading it.**

**Reviews...**

**GreenD109: In this chapter, I showed that Hiro and Mordred will be using Curse skills and physical attacks. Maybe somewhere down the line, he'll obtain Almighty skills.**

**Clarent excalibur: And I hope you liked it.**

**PRemingtion900: Glad you noticed that talk Hiro had with his former volleyball teammates. Something I thought my previous story lacked was exposition. That way, we can get into Hiro's head little more to know what he's thinking. **

**Here's hoping I can pull that more for future chapters too.**

**ShadowUzumaki55: Yeah, right. Those ungrateful jerks. I hope I delivered well on Hiro's awakening.**

**ReallyLazyReader: Hey, maybe there is. Unless Kamoshida thinks his spike is like a cannon then that's what I presumed when I saw that student getting shot continuously by that cannon. I kept the same design for Hiro's design for his outfit. **

**I described that he wore a hooded jacket, he doesn't wear the hood though. It's more for decoration. It kinda resembles the outfits that assassin's wear in Assassin's Creed. ****His Persona is Mordred, who is a knight, so to me, it made sense to make it look more knightly.**

**Naruto RWBY: Hiro will apologize to her. I mean, this chapter is shorter than the last one. But if you want longer chapters, later on, I can make that happen. **

**I want to tell everyone about Hiro's Arcana. Hiro is the Strength Arcana due to his strong will, judging by how long he was able to withstand Kamoshida's abuse until he got tired of all the lying and was able to quit the team when others would not. Persona's of the Strength Arcana are warrior figures and heroes, or figures that embody Strength of body or character. While Mordred is no hero, he is a warrior since he is a knight. He is the thief who stole the Excalibur from his uncle, or in some cases, his father King Arthur.**

**I've also started an account on an Archive of our own account so people on there could also read it. **

**That's all for now.**

**I'll see you guys next time.**

**Later!**


	7. Volleyball Fail

**I do not own Persona**

**It is owned by Atlus**

**I just own my OC's**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Persona 5: A Wolf's Strength Pt.7**

* * *

**Day: Tuesday - Date: 4/12 - Time of Day: Evening - Weather: Cloudy - Location: Leblanc**

It was evening by the time Ren got back to the cafe. He walked through the entrance and found Sojiro sitting on one of the stools and once again absorbed into a crossword puzzle just like when he walked into the cafe the first time. Sojiro looked up from his puzzle only to see Ren in front of him.

"You're home," the older man seemed more surprised. "I take it you actually went to school today?"

"Of course," Ren nodded. "I promised it wouldn't happen again."

"I guess you learned your lesson after what happened yesterday," Sojiro said with a shrug. "Eh, as long as you're not getting into trouble, it's fine by me."

"That I can handle," Ren claimed honestly.

"I don't know what you've been up to, but trust me..." Sojiro face turned into a stern one. "You'll be gone if you start causing problems. In case you forget, your life is not a free one right now."

Ren noticed the older man was trying to remind him that he messes up even once, he'll be sent straight to Juvenile Hall. Letting him know he understood, Ren nodded once more and after that, his cell phone rang, letting him know he got a message. He got a message from Ryuji, the blonde created a chat which had himself, Ren, and Hiro. Ryuji had just sent the first message for the chat.

**[Chat IM]**

**[Ryuji S.]: Hey, I decided to go ahead and message you guys.**

**Ryuji S.]: Can you see this?**

Ren decided to have a little fun with this. He smirked a bit as he typed his reply back.

**[Ren A.]: Nope.**

**[Ryuji S]: You SO can!**

**[Ryuji S.]: Oh, Hiro's not here? He could be passed out or something. He should be able to see this too, shouldn't he?**

Ren assumed Hiro must have been tired from awakening his Persona. But to his own surprise, he saw Hiro had joined them in the chat and started typing his reply.

**[Yasuhiro N]: Yo!**

**[Yasuhiro N]: What's going on? I was sleeping just now.**

**[Ren A.]: Sorry to disturb your sleep.**

**[Yasuhiro N.]: Don't worry about it. What's up?**

**[Ryuji S]: Nothing much. Just wanted to say, I'm going to be counting on you guys tomorrow, OK?**

**[Yasuhiro N.]: Sure thing.**

**[Ren A.]: Got it.**

**[Ryuji S.]: You guys are bros...**

**[Ryuji S.]: Welp, seeya tomorrow!**

**[Ryuji S.]: Let's save those guys who've been abused. You both and me.**

Ren shoved his phone back in his pocket and looked back at Sojiro who was only staring at him and sighed with a shake of his head.

"Sheesh, are you even listening to me?" Sojiro groaned. "Just stay away from bad influences, OK?"

Ren was sure Ryuji or Hiro didn't seem like a bad influence's. Hiro seemed like the type of person to avoid trouble when he can even though the students at Shujin spread rumors about him and Ryuji is loud and vulgar and had the look of a delinquent but neither of them seemed like bad guys at all. He figured Sojiro was trying to look out for him in his own way.

"Alright," Ren said and walked past Sojiro as he placed his newspaper on the bar counter.

"Hey, I'm gonna head home for the night," Sojiro said. "I'll lock the store up. Don't go wandering out."

"I won't," Ren replied. "I'm a little tired anyway." with that, Ren went upstairs to the attic/his bedroom to get ready for bed. As Ren was about to get settled into bed, he got another message from Ryuji in the chat.

**[Chat IM]**

**[Ryuji S.]: That thingy on your phone was som red eyeball icon, right?**

**[Ren A.]: Right. Why?**

**[Ryuji S.]: We ended up at that weird place when we used this nav app, right?**

**[Ryuji S.]: I found it on my phone too...**

**[Ryuji S.]: I don't even remember installing it!**

Ren remembered what Igor said to him in the Velvet Room. That he will bestow the navigator to people who may prove beneficial to him. He gave it to Ryuji. So that means he most likely gave it to Hiro as well. Ren decided to act dumb about it since he felt Ryuji wouldn't believe him that the app came from Igor.

**[Ren A.]: That's creepy.**

**[Ryuji S.]: For real. What is this thing...?**

**[Ryuji S.]: Think it's being downloaded on its own somehow?**

**[Ryuji S.]: It's dangerous to use something without knowing what it is...**

**[Ryuji S.]: But with it, we can go to that weird place, right?**

**[Ren A.]: Yeah, seems like it.**

**[Ryuji S]: Basically, it's gonna depend on how we use it.**

**[Ryuji S.]: But first we gotta find evidence for the beatings.**

**[Ryuji S.]: I just realized Hiro ain't here?**

**[Ren A.]: He probably went back to sleep.**

**[Ryuji S.]: That's fine. He'll figure out the plan tomorrow when he see's the chat...**

**[Ryuji S.]: I'm counting on you, all right? Don't go ditching school on me.**

**[Ren A.]: Wouldn't dream of it. See you tomorrow.**

Ren put on his sleepwear and got into bed since he himself was tired out from being in the metaverse. Ren noticed that being in that other world completely exhaust him so going to sleep right away should help.

**-O-**

**[Velvet Room]**

Ren's eyes shot open as he got up and found himself back in his jail cell in the Velvet Room. He got up and approached the bars and met with the faces of Igor, Justine, and Caroline.

"Welcome to Velvet Room," Igor greeted in his deep, chilling voice. "I thought about resuming our previous conversation tonight. That is why I have summoned you. What are your thoughts? Are you becoming accustomed to this place?"

"Yeah," Ren voiced honestly but also unsurely. He didn't like being a jail cell all too much. But he'll have to get used to it since Igor is trying to help him. To 'rehabilitate' him and to help him avoid the 'ruin' he spoke about.

"Ah, glad to hear it," Igor said. "It seems you have nerves of steel. Your rehabilitation determines if ruin cannot be stopped. Yet, such a feat cannot be done by you alone. But today, you entered partnerships with two who awoke the same power, haven't you?"

"You're talking about Ryuji and Hiro?" Ren inquired.

"Involving yourself with others is an important foundation for your recovery," Igor explained. "You've done well. That said, I am not advising the formation of superficial relationships. It must not be of frivolity, but a ring of those who would, by morals, lend you their strength. In other words, they are bonds with those who have been robbed of their places to belong. The expansion of said ring will, in return, help you mature as well."

"Persona's are the strength of heart..." Justine spoke up, getting Ren's attention. "The stronger the bonds that surround you, the more power your Personas gain."

"There are countless people in the city who have talents that a weakling like you doesn't," Caroline cut-in. "You better rack that noggin of yours and get them on your side. We'll change that into power."

"So, you're saying that the people I meet..." Ren said. "Will benefit me in some way?" Ren was sort of getting how all of this worked.

"Indeed," Igor agreed. "You should be prepared to use even myself, or your ambitions will not come to fruition." Igor let out an amused chuckle. "We have a deal then."

"I still don't get it, but yes..." Ren nodded. "We have a deal." Ren started to feel that Igor had high expectations of him. Just like with Ryuji and Hiro, he felt he had started a bond with his 'Prison Master'.

_I am thou, thou art I..._

_Thou hast acquired a new vow._

_It shall become the wings of rebellion_

_that breaketh thy chains of captivity_

_With the birth of the **Fool** Persona,_

_I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power..._

"Well, you will understand it all in due time..." said Igor. "Continue devoting yourself to your rehabilitation."

"Now, this conversation is over!" Caroline declared. "Get lost, Inmate!"

**-O-**

**Day: Wednesday - Date: 4/13 - Time of Day: Early Morning - Weather: Cloudy - Location: Train Station**

Hiro walked into the train station so he could wait for his train to show up. He held his phone in his hand as he wondered if he should try getting in touch with Makoto so he could apologize for what he said. What he found as soon as he looked at his phone was that black and red eyeball app that was on Ren's phone.

_'Strange?' _wondered Hiro. '_I don't recall downloading this onto my phone. But this is what made us end up at that castle.'_

He eyed the app curiously until he looked up from his cell, he saw Makoto standing near to the edge as she herself was waiting for the train to show up. Hiro sighed and decided to muster up the courage to apologize to her and began making his way up to her.

"Hey, Mako..." Hiro greeted her as he walked up.

"Oh..." Makoto mouthed as she noticed Hiro. "Good morning, Hiro."

"Yeah, morning," Hiro scratched the back of his head. "Listen, I have something I want to tell you." Makoto seemed a little surprised as she fully turned toward him.

"Okay," Makoto said. "What is it?"

"Well..." Hiro sighed again. "Remember yesterday when I was angry, and I got angry at you."

"Are you going to tell me why you were so upset?" Makoto inquired.

"Yeah, but first..." Hiro said. "I want to say I'm sorry."

"Hmm?" she hummed in confusion.

"You were only trying to help and I shouldn't have pushed you away like that," Hiro sighed. "It wasn't fair to you. Can... can you forgive me?"

Makoto was taken aback by Hiro's apology but accepted with a nod, he was apologetic enough for her to decide to forgive him. "Apology accepted," she said. "Now, tell me what was troubling you yesterday."

"You really want to know...?" Hiro wondered as Makoto only gave him a slow nod in confirmation. "Well, at lunch I was approached by some members of the volleyball team."

"What did they say to you?" Makoto questioned.

"You must have heard what people say," Hiro said. "That I was Kamoshida's 'dog'. That he got me to do whatever he wanted."

"That's unfair of them to say," Makoto stated as her face turned serious. "You were only following his orders since he's the coach, right? And you're no longer apart of the team. It doesn't give them the right to be jealous of you."

"Jealously got nothing to do with it..." Hiro replied putting his hands in his pockets. "But that doesn't stop them from being angry at me and all the rumors."

"Would you like me to get them to stop?" Makoto insisted. "I am Council President so I could have a talk with them."

"No need," Hiro shook his head. "I don't think you should get yourself involved with it."

"Why not?" Makoto asked. "It isn't fair that they should treat you that way just because you quit the volleyball team."

"Because I don't want them thinking I get special attention from Shujin's Student Council President," Hiro claimed. "Do you understand now?" Makoto looked to the side, folding her arms. "Besides, you don't need to worry anymore. It no longer bothers me. Trust me."

Makoto was a bit concerned when she found Hiro all hopped up on anger. She's known him ever since they were younger, she knew that nothing really ever got under Hiro's skin. It took a lot to make that happen. If Hiro is sure that she didn't need to worry, she didn't need to pry anymore.

"If you're certain..." Makoto nodded. "Then alright. I believe you. "

"Thanks," Hiro smiled and at that moment, the train showed up as it stopped at the station. Hiro, Makoto, and other passengers boarded the car. The two teens were able to find available seats. Remembering that Hiro was previously on the volleyball team, Makoto was reminded of something.

"That reminds me..." Makoto said. "The volleyball rally's today."

"Oh yeah," Hiro remembered. "That's today." Hiro sounded like he didn't care at all though. "Are you going to be watching it?"

"All Student Council Members will be on rotation for supervision during the rally," Makoto explained pushing her hair behind her ear. "To make sure no students or teachers get injured and ensure safety."

"Right, safety," Hiro repeated the last word from Makoto's mouth. He sighed folding his arms and shaking his head.

_'For the students, 'safety' won't be on Kamoshida's mind,' _Hiro thought resentfully.

"By the way..." Makoto said getting Hiro's attention. "About the rally?"

"What about it?" Hiro wondered.

"Would you have been in it if you didn't quit?" Makoto asked. "From what I hear, students are allowed to volunteer and participate. Would you happen to have any interest in playing if you were given the chance? I mean, if you wanted to."

"Nope," Hiro said nonchalantly. "That's definitely not going to happen. I gave up on volleyball. I have no intention of volunteering to play at all." Hiro leaned back on the seat, crossing a leg over the other. "You can believe me on that." The rest of the way to school, Hiro and Makoto talked on the train ride down to Shujin Academy.

**-O-**

Ren was walking down the road that led to Shujin. On his way there he was listening to a pair of male students have a chat on the way there.

"How annoying-we've barely started high school, and already they're making us play at a volleyball rally? And why are they are pitting us against the teacher team? Kamoshida's gonna crush us."

"We get to see his technique live and in person, though. We should totally get spiked on!"

"Yeah, OK. You're gonna get your face smashed in."

"Just look at how banged up the volleyball is. What the hell goes on during their practices?"

Ren got to Shujin and made his way up to his classroom. and got into his seat as the bell rang for classes to begin. Ms. Kawakami stood at her podium to address the class for what was planned for today.

"OK, listen up everyone," Ms. Kawakami said. "As you all know, today is the volleyball rally. Head to the gymnasium once you've changed. Got it?"

The whole gymnasium was bustling with students as a volleyball game was being played. The game was a match between the staff vs. students. Students, mostly female were cheering the game on and some just ignored the game and were only staring down at their phones. Naturally, Suguru Kamoshida was on the teacher team and was really showing off his volleyball skills and was pretty much-doing everything himself. He was obviously a 'one-man show' out there. Various girls were cheering him on and also the student team. Kamoshida leaped up in the air to spike the incoming ball. The sped toward Yuuki Mishima, he was knocked out of his stance as the ball hit him and knocked him to the ground. The ball hit the ground and a whistle sounded signaling that the teacher team gained a point. The teacher's praised and high-five Kamoshida on his spike.

"Man, you still got it, coach!" exclaimed a bald teacher.

"Thanks!" Kamoshida smiled. "Let's go for one more!" he and the teacher's got back into their positions.

The whistle blew as the two teams continued their game, the student team were less than enthusiastic about playing. Mishima sighed softly as he put his head down. The female students continued their unanimous cheering, well, all but one. Ann Takamaki was sitting on a chair by herself. She wasn't even remotely paying any attention to the game and was only twirling one of her pigtails.

Hiro, Ren, and Ryuji all sat together. They all wore their gym clothes differently. Hiro wore his red tracksuit with the jacket zipped up half-way and still wore his grey bandana scarf, Ren wore his jacket open, and Ryuji wore only the t-shirt with his sleeves rolled up, the same with his pants. The faux-blonde had his focus on Ann.

"Still sticks out," Ryuji noted. "Hasn't changed a bit."

"What was that?" Ren asked him taking his eyes off the game to look at the faux-blonde.

"Nothin'," Ryuji answered back as he let out a yawn. "Pretty boring. Right, guys?" he said to Ren and Hiro.

"Yeah, it is boring," Ren smiled in agreement and brought his eyes onto Ann as well, he figured she and Ryuji must know each other. But Hiro kept his eyes on the game.

He glared at Kamoshida as the coach had this gloating, shit-eating grin on his face while he was playing. He knew exactly what this whole rally thing was for. Just for Kamoshida to stroke his over-sized ego. It was so big it was probably larger than Jupiter. Hiro also figured out he spiked the ball at Mishima on purpose. It was wrong because Mishima is obviously an easy target for him, Hiro was honestly concerned for his underclassman. Hiro sighed internally and averted his eyes away from the game as they landed on Makoto.

Shujin's own Student Council President was over-seeing the game. Wearing her own red tracksuit, instead of the track pants; she wore the girl's shorts. Makoto seemed visibly worried for Mishima as well even though the ball barely hit him but still made him fall over. She sighed in relief, shutting her eyes. She opened them as she looked in Hiro's direction. She smiled as she gave him a small wave, Hiro himself returned the smile and small wave. Ren noticed who Hiro staring at and looked at him.

"Who's that?" Ren asked. "Is she a friend of yours?"

"Huh?" Hiro responded. "Yeah, you can say that." Hiro turned his back on the game, Kamoshida spiked a ball a second time at Mishima nearly knocking the boy over again. Hiro, once again became angry that Kamoshida was specifically targeting the Second-year, Hiro turned back to Ren. "So, Ren, I have to know. Do you play any sports?" Hiro asked crisscrossing his legs and leaning back on his hands. "I used to play a lot of sports growing up as a kid, and Ryuji here did track and field..." he gestured a hand toward the blonde who seemed like he was napping. "What about you?"

Ren pondered with a hand on his chin for a bit. "I used to play baseball. And back in my old high school, I was on the swim team."

"Baseball, huh?" Hiro said as he sounded interested. "That's a good sport. You live in Yongen, don't you? Then you should check out the batting cages they have down there. I've never used them but you should give them a try."

"Batting cages, huh?" Ren said. Ren wasn't aware they had batting cages down in Yongen-Jaya. He's been so busy and has been coming home pretty late. He started to wonder if he could make time during the day to use those batting cages. "I'll have check those out."

"Should be fun for you since you played baseball," Hiro smiled. "You also used to be on the swim team? That seems pretty accurate. You look like you got the correct build for swimming."

"Thanks," said Ren. "Though, I haven't had a chance to get back into swimming since moving out here."

"It must suck that you can't join the swim club here at Shujin because of your... situation, doesn't it?" Hiro wondered.

"Yeah," Ren expressed with a shrug. "It pretty much does suck. But I can't join any clubs anyway. Not when everybody thinks I'm going to slug them in their face because of the rumors."

"True," Hiro said. "Just ignore them." at this point, Hiro, Ren, and Ryuji who opened his eyes all brought their attention back to the still going volleyball game. Kamoshida leaped into the air and spiked the incoming volleyball over the net and three volleyball players who try to stop it. The ball sailed through the air and flew right toward Mishima once again. But this time the ball collided with the boys' face. A loud thud sounded when the ball impacted as it also knocked the boy of his feet, falling over on his back.

"Holy shit..." Ryuji mouthed in shock.

"Woah..." Ren said after, his eyes wide. Hiro quickly jumped to his feet and ran to the downed boy.

"Mishima!" Hiro called as he got on his knees to help the boy up. Makoto sprang into action too, getting over to the other side to help Hiro with Mishima.

"Mishima-kun!" Makoto said worriedly. "Is he alright?" she wondered as she leaned Mishima up with Hiro.

"Not sure," Hiro noted. "That ball hit him pretty hard." Hiro shook Mishima lightly. "Hey, Mishima? Say something? Can you hear me?"

Mishima slowly opened his eyes and was met with the faces of Hiro and Makoto. "Nakamura-senpai and Niijima-senpai?" he was close to passing out again as Hiro began snapping his fingers in his face to keep him focused.

"Hey, hey!" Hiro exclaimed. "Come on, stay with us here!"

"Mishima-kun...?" Makoto said. "Tell me how many fingers am I holding up?" Makoto held up three fingers. Mishima was squinting but he seemed like he was having trouble ascertaining the number of fingers she was holding up.

"Uh, two...?" Mishima guessed. Hiro and Makoto shared a look with each other. Kamoshida finally ran up to them.

"Sorry," Kamoshida 'apologized'. "Hey, is he alright?"

"He just took a volleyball to the head," Hiro stated. "He should go to the nurse."

"Agreed," Makoto gave a firm nod of agreement.

"Can you both take him there?" Kamoshida asked like he was concerned. Hiro assumed he was only doing that just to show he felt bad for hitting Mishima. It was exactly what he was doing. He was lying just to cover himself. Hiro sighed softly as he stared at the ground and giving a short nod, affirming his decision to this.

_'This bastard needs to put in his place,'_ Hiro thought. _'And in order to do that, he needs to beat him at his own game.'_

"Yes," Makoto said. "We'll take Mishima-kun to the nurse right away."

"Good," Kamoshida smiled. "Nakamura and Niijima will handle taking Mishima to the nurse!" he announced to everyone in the court. "Let's resume the match!"

"He'll pay soon enough," Ryuji muttered as he threw the volleyball back toward the players. Kamoshida turned to walk back to the teacher side of the court.

"Hey, hold on a minute..." Hiro said. Everyone's eyes in the gym went to him as Kamoshida turned around back to Hiro. Everyone was curious to know what was even going to do.

"Hm?" hummed Kamoshida in wonder.

"Hiro...?" Makoto stared as she stared at Hiro.

"You!" Hiro pointed at one of the student players. "Come over here."

"M-Me!?" the student wondered pointing to himself. "Why?"

"Because you're going to help our Student Council President take Mishima to the nurse," Hiro stated. "I'm taking your place. I'm participating in the rally." the whole gym erupted in murmurs among the students.

"Nakamura-kun's playing!?"

"Nakamura's gonna play!?"

"He quit the volleyball team! Watch him lose!"

"I bet he's not even good at the sport!"

"Kamoshida's totally gonna own him!"

"Woah..." Ryuji said in surprise. "Is he for real...?"

"Hmm," Ren hummed in amusement. "This might be good."

Makoto glared at the other students who were hurling insults at Hiro. She didn't like the way they were mistreating their senior. Not only just that, mistreating her friend. She was about to get the students attention and get them to stop but before she could Hiro stood up, leaving Makoto to hold Mishima by herself.

"Are-are you sure about this, Hiro...?" Makoto asked Hiro. Hiro only turned around and gave her a small smirk. "But I thought you didn't want to-" His eyes gave her the idea that he was dead serious. Especially the smirk he had given her.

"I know what I'm doing, Makoto..." Hiro declared. "Trust me. You should hurry to the nurse for Mishima."

Makoto was surprised by Hiro's sudden urge to participate in the rally but she gave him a nod. "Okay." she started to lift Mishima up with the help of the other volleyball player. As Makoto and the player took Mishima out of the gym, she turned around to look at Hiro who was in the midst of taking off his track jacket, tossing to the side. Makoto was just as stunned as the other students in the gym at Hiro's declaration to play. He told her this morning that he didn't want to play but now he suddenly does. She remembered that smile he just gave to her. He was almost like a completely different person. It may have just been a small smirk but it was enough to show how confident he was in his decision.

_'I hope you actually do know what you're doing, Hiro...'_ Makoto thought. _'Please don't do anything too reckless.'_ They left the gym as Kamoshida faced Hiro.

"I'm honestly surprised that you want to play, Nakamura..." Kamoshida stated but smiled. "But if that's what you want, then I'll allow it."

"I'd like to play too if you wouldn't mind at all," Hiro turned around to the source of the voice and noticed Ren standing there with a smile on his face, waving his hand.

"Ren...?" Hiro wondered in surprise.

Kamoshida folded his arms. "Oh so, the transfer student wants to play, huh?" the whole gymnasium erupted with the chatter of students.

"Why do want to play?" Hiro whispered wide-eyed. "You know this is volleyball, right? Much different from something like baseball."

"You just hit the ball over the net," Ren shrugged. "How hard can it be?"

"There's a lot more to it than that," Hiro explained. Hiro was still astonished that Ren would volunteer to play in the rally. Then again, they were another man short so he'll have to do. Plus, Ren seemed pretty athletic during their adventure through the castle, so it'll work.

"If Amamiya's not up to play, he doesn't have to," Kamoshida smiled. "That is if he thinks he can't keep up."

Ren turned to face Kamoshida, he glared at the man through his glasses, exuding confidence much like Hiro earlier. "I'll play. I can keep up." Ren then pushed up his glasses and took off his track jacket as he stared at the volleyball coach. "But the truth is, can you, Mr. Kamoshida?" he smirked, he showed off the same kind of energy of when he awakened his Persona.

Kamoshida's face turned into an angered scowl at Ren. First, Hiro and now this criminal trash have come to make a mockery of him. During this little 'game', the coach was going to do his hardest to teach these two pieces of trash a lesson.

_'Amamiya-kun...'_ Ann thought amazement. She noticed the confidence in Ren's voice when he asked Kamoshida that question. Not only that, but she also noticed his smirk. He seemed like a completely different person than the boy she met two days ago. Ryuji from where he sitting down, whistled loudly with his fingers in his mouth.

_'Damn, Ren...'_ Hiro mused with a smile. _'You just waltz right up and have to one-up me like that.' _

"First Nakamura, and now the criminal!?"

"Teach him a lesson, Mr. Kamoshida!"

"Get off the court, Criminal Trash!"

"Leave the damn school, more like it!"

"Get the hell outta here!"

The students in the gymnasium decided to shout jeers and insults at Ren. Hiro just glared at the students, Ryuji and even Ann herself shared disapproval of their mistreatment of Ren.

_'Fricken A-hole's,'_ Ryuji thought angrily. _'You guys don't even know him.'_

_'What the hell's their problem?'_ Ann thought herself._ 'It's not fair for them to treat him like this.'_ she had a mind herself to tell all these jerks straight but she had to keep quiet because of Kamoshida, fearing he might drop Shiho from the team.

"Okay, you can play too, Amamiya..." Kamoshida said turning his glare into a smile. "I'll let this side have the first serve to give you a chance."

"That's fine," Hiro said. "But first, I need to teach Amamiya how to play the game. It won't be too long." Hiro grabbed Ren and pulled him out of earshot of Kamoshida. "You pretty much know how to play already, don't you?" he whispered.

"Vaguely, yes," Ren whispered slowly nodding. "I have been paying attention to the game, seeing how it's played."

"Good," Hiro whispered. "Now that that's out of the way. All I want to say is, is keep your eye on the ball and obviously don't let it touch the ground if it does then he wins. And we don't want that. You don't have to do anything too drastic, leave it to me. We're gonna try to teach Kamoshitbag here a lesson in humility. Are you ready?"

"Yeah, let's do this," Ren stated.

"Okay, 'cause I have a plan," Hiro declared. "Hey, you all! Fall-in and listen up!"

"Who said you were giving the orders?" a student asked while folding his arms and scowling at Hiro.

"You wanna score a point?" Hiro inquired placing a hand on his hip. "Then you better listen well." Hiro was able to get the rest of the student team to listen to his plan. After that, they broke to start the match. Everyone got into positions as Hiro picked up the ball and tossed it to the server and faced Kamoshida.

"It's not too late if you want to quit, Nakamura?" Kamoshida asked grinning. "Since you quit the team you might be a bit rusty."

"It hasn't been too long," Hiro replied rotating his shoulder. "I think I can manage just fine."

Hiro, Ren, and the other members of the student team were given the ball first. The server of their team served the ball into the air. Hiro started to shout orders at the team, showing off his expertise as Team Captain.

"Hey, look alive! Quit slouching!" Hiro ordered as the student got into a more ready stance. "And you! You think you're gonna be able to spike the ball back at the other team standing like that!?"

The students seemed to take Hiro's advice and started to look more prepared. One of the teachers on the other side hit the ball toward Kamoshida. Kamoshida did his spike toward the ground. Hiro was ready for it and knew his former coach would go for that spike of his. He crouched down and hit the ball over his head, it flew backward toward his team, one of the students was able to hit it into the air not letting hit the ground, the ball started making his way over to Ren.

"Over to me!" Hiro ordered. Ren complied as he hit the ball back using both of his hands while clasped together. He passed it back over to Hiro. For Hiro, Ren set it up for him to spike the ball over the net. Hiro jumped up and spiked it but it also gave Kamoshida a chance to dive and hit the ball high in the air over to the student team. One of the other team members hit the ball and passed it to a few other teammates to send it back over to the teacher side. Kamoshida saw the ball coming toward him and jumped to once again do his famous spike. Hiro got ready just in case, he was going to hit toward him but what ended up happening was the coach spiked in completely different direction knowing Hiro wouldn't be able to reach it.

The ball flew toward Ren, it was so fast that the Second-year didn't have time to react. The hit him square in the face. The whole gymnasium gasped at the sight and grimaced. Ryuji gasped and shot up from where he was sitting, even Ann stood up herself from her chair as she gasped worriedly covering her mouth. She didn't know why but she still didn't know why she was getting worked up over someone she pretty much just met. Ren was close to falling on the ground as he quickly caught himself. As everything was quiet as the sound that was heard was Ren's glasses hitting the floor, the volleyball landing out of bounds, Ren who had his head down quickly brought it up and glare sharply and defiantly at the volleyball coach, it was like when Ren managed to hit a shadow's weakness back at the castle. The look Ren gave Kamoshida made the coach slightly flinch back a bit.

"Sorry about that," Kamoshida forced an apology. "Are you alright?"

"Hey, Ren," Hiro called. "You hurt?"

Ren picked up his glasses and placed them back over his eyes, he pushed them back up. "Yeah, I'm good, Hiro." he gave a smirk similar to when he summoned Arsene. "Nice spike, Kamoshida. It was a little weak though. I honestly expected a little more." Kamoshida ground his teeth from Ren's comment. Hiro couldn't help grin at Ren's confidence. The guy just took a volleyball to the face and he's still standing up.

_'Ren Amamiya, you sir, are a badass in my eyes,'_ Hiro thought amusingly.

_**"That he is, sire, that he is,"**_

_'Right!'_ Hiro agreed but then frowned in confusion. _'Wait a second? Who said that just now?'_ Either Hiro thought he was going insane or he just heard a voice in his head. Hiro decided to shake off the thought for now and check on Ren.

"Ren, you sure you're alright?" Hiro asked walking up to him. "You look okay, but, if you want to step out I'd completely understand."

"No," Ren said shaking his head. "Trust me, Hiro, I'm good. I can keep playing. Kamoshida needs to be knocked from his throne."

Hiro smiled at the underclassman and nodded. "Exactly. I got another plan I want to run by you. Think you can manage?"

"I sure can," Ren nodded.

"Here we go, listen up," Hiro started to explain the plan to Ren and called the student team over to discuss the strategy he's got for them. After giving them the run-down of the idea they broke to get the game to resume. This time the teacher team was up to serve first. The ball did a little back-and-forth between teams. The students were a bit more motivated as Hiro gave them commands. Kamoshida thought it was time to finish this show Hiro and Ren were putting on. It was time to finish their little charade with his spike one more time. The volleyball was passed over the net by the teacher team as one of the students passed it back over high into the air right down to Kamoshida. Kamoshida knew this was his chance, to finish those two troublemakers off. He was planning to spike the ball right into Hiro's face to remind his former team Captain to never mess with him. As the volleyball fell down toward Kamoshida, he leaped into the air after it, a grin on his face, believing he already won. However, Hiro knew what he was going for and was ready for it.

"Ren! Dive!" Hiro ordered Ren as Kamoshida spiked the ball, Ren dove to the ground behind Hiro. Hiro got down just enough to give Ren a clear shot to hit the ball, sending it back into the air. Kamoshida landed on the ground as Hiro leaped up to meet the volleyball. Hiro let out a short roar as his hand collided with the ball and spiked it fiercely over the net. As soon as the ball hit the ground, Kamoshida had developed a defeated look on his face. Everyone present was mortally shocked and silent at the whole scene that happened. The Olympic Medalist was beaten by his former team Captain and a Criminal. A loud thud sounded off as Hiro landed on the ground in a crouch.

_'Holy shit...'_ Ann gasped in thought. _'They actually did it!' _she had the idea in mind to cheer out loud for them but told herself not to and keep seated in her chair.

"Hell yeah!" Ryuji cheered as clenched his fist, a huge smile on his face. Hiro stood up tall, trying to catch his breath and wiping his bottom lip. He turned around to look at Ren who got up himself, the two stared at each other and then smiled. Hiro turned back around to Kamoshida.

"That was fun, Mr. Kamoshida," Hiro said with a cheeky smirk. "Thanks for the chance to let me play, 'coach'. It brought back a lot of good memories." Hiro winked and walked away and went to gather his track jacket and Ren's.

"I admit, that was pretty fun," Ren smiled. "Thank you for giving me the opportunity to play, sir!" He noticed how defeated Kamoshida looked as he glared at him and Hiro. Ren only gave the coach a smile and then walked away. Hiro handed Ren his track jacket and shared a fist bump heading out the entrance of the gym. They walked out of the gymnasium followed by Ryuji.

"You guy's were freakin' awesome!" Ryuji commented putting his arms around Hiro and Ren.

"It was all Hiro's doing," Ren mentioned with shrug. "He's the one that came up with the plans. I just simply followed through with what he had planned."

"But you were the one that made them happen, Ren," Hiro noted. "If you didn't dive as I told you, I wouldn't have had the chance to spike the ball." Hiro rotated his neck. "But I think after doing something like that, I am officially done with volleyball. I'm actually quite satisfied with what we pulled off."

"Man, after seeing you guys stick it to him like that..." Ryuji chuckled. "I'm definitely now more pumped about doing this. Let's go find those players."

"Let's do this," Ren stated. "It's showtime!"

**-O-**

**Day: Wednesday - Date: 4/13 - Time of Day: Afternoon - Weather: Cloudy - Location: Shujin Courtyard**

Before the boys began their search, they stopped in the school's courtyard. Hiro purchased drinks him and Ren since they were a bit winded from the small volleyball game against Kamoshida. Ren was standing while he slurped his drink while Hiro sat on one of the benches.

"You guys notice Kamoshida before you guys showed him up...?" Ryuji asked. "That asshole was actin' like a king over here too...?" Ryuji let out a scoff. "Get to know each other better, my ass. It's just a one-man show for him to stroke his ego. And how he acted like he was worried about Mishima? What an abusive d-bag...!"

"More like 'Kamoshitbag'?" Ren quipped pushing his glasses up. "Right, Hiro?"

Hiro smiled and gave out a small chuckle. "We hear you, Ryuji, but since we beat him at his own game, he probably won't be playing as well as he does," Hiro remarked as he downed the rest of his drink and sighed contently.

"Well, anyways..." Ryuji said bringing the conversation back to their plan. "Now's our chance to look for the guys we saw as slaves yesterday."

Ren nodded. "Yeah, we should do that. Though, I don't remember or know what they look like."

"Don't worry about it, man," Ryuji declared. "I got you covered. I memorized them all back at the castle. All of the team should be here today. I'll be sure to find someone to spill about Kamoshida's physical abuse. Just you wait, asshole." Ryuji growled about Kamoshida.

"The first one that popped out was a guy from Class D, so let's start there. That's your class." Ryuji frowned like he remembered something. "People have been avoidin' me lately, so... Oh, but you're in the same boat, huh."

Hiro stood up from the bench. "Speaking of being avoided, I realized I can't help you guys."

"Why not?" Ryuji wondered but then realized. "Oh yeah, since you were on the team, the other guys might avoid you if you tried talking to them."

"If you want, Hiro, we can message you if we manage to get one of them to talk," Ren suggested. "Assuming if we're successful."

"That'd be appreciative," Hiro expressed. "While you guys are doing that, I'm going to go check on Mishima in the nurse's office, just to see how he's doing."

"Gotcha," Ryuji winked. "Okay, Ren. Let's go see that guy from your class."

**-O-**

Ren and Ryuji quickly started on their through the school and up the stairs to Class D. Students were in the classroom, wearing their gym clothes but the two were easily able to pick out the Volleyball Player wearing the team uniform. Ren followed by Ryuji, approached the player. The player turned around and you can obviously tell he was on the team as he had covered in bandages. His eye was covered by a bandage, obviously to hide his swollen eye.

"What...?" asked the Volleyball Player. He sounded scared, it was probably because he was being approached by the criminal transfer student and the delinquent. "Are you skipping out on the volleyball rally? I guess I expect it from you, transfer."

"Uh, right...?" Ren answered awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his neck. Ren felt someone nudging his arm, it was only Ryuji trying to get his attention.

"Hey, that's the guy who was over at the castle," Ryuji whispered.

"You too, Sakamoto!?" the player noticed Ryuji standing next to Ren. "What do you guys want...?"

"We only wanted to know..." Ren started. "How did you get your injuries?"

The player flinched back a bit. "It's from practice!" he stated quickly. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Kamoshida did it to you, right?" Ryuji interjected stepping closer. "Look, I ain't gonna tell anyone you squealed. Just tell us about how Kamoshida's abusin' you."

"I-I don't know what you're talking about!" stuttered the player.

"You're afraid, aren't you?" Ren asked. "You're obviously not saying anything about because you're scared."

"I'm not!" yelled the Player. "You guys are talking complete nonsense!"

Ryuji sighed while crossing his arms. "Don't try n' hide it! We already know!"

"You... You know?" the Volleyball Player seemed kinda surprised. "You have proof?"

"Well, uh..." Ryuji was at a loss for words. "I..."

"This is ridiculous," the Player scoffed. "Please, leave me alone. You're really bothering me!"

"All right, that's enough," Ryuji frowned. "C'mon, Ren, let's go."

"Fine," Ren complied and followed Ryuji outside of the classroom. "Well, that was a waste. But we can't give up, right?"

"He was obviously lyin'!" Ryuji said. "That injury ain't normal! And he still won't fess up... Crap. If we keep goin' at this pace, the ball game's gonna end..."

Ren thought for a bit and then nodded his head at his idea. "Ryuji, what do you say we split up. That we can cover more ground and hopefully find one Player who would be willing to fess-up to any of the abuse."

Ryuji grinned at Ren's idea. "Good plan. I guess that'd be faster. I'll check the Practice Building for people before clubs start. You handle the Classroom Building."

"I hear you," Ren agreed. "Who should I start with?"

"There's a third-year on the volleyball team that I remember," Ryuji explained. "I think he's in Hiro's class? 3-C. He might be around the classroom. The third-year classrooms are on the first floor. He was gettin' beat pretty badly at the castle. He might have some injuries here too..."

"Anyways, I'll hit you up if I find anything," Ryuji smiled. "Seeya!" Ren gave a Ryuji a nod as the blonde walked away to find his share of the Volleyball Players.

Before Ren went on his way, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and decided to message Hiro what their current situation is.

**[Chat IM]**

**[Ren.A]: Hiro...**

**[Ren.A]: The first guy was no go.**

**[Ren.A]: Wouldn't tell us anything.**

**[Ren.A]: So, Ryuji and I are going to split up and find players individually.**

**[Ren.A]: Message back when you get this.**

**-O-**

Makoto was currently in the nurse's office. As the black-haired female nurse was carefully placing a bandage on Mishima's head and would ask Makoto to bring the necessary materials to help with Mishima's bruise.

"I want to thank you for your help, Nijima-san," the nurse smiled.

Makoto smiled back at her. "Oh, no. Please, it's not trouble at all, ma'am. I'm just glad I can help one of my peers."

"How did he get hit again?" the nurse wondered.

Makoto remembered Mr. Kamoshida spiking the ball over the net as it sailed toward Mishima and made contact with his face. She won't forget that awful loud sound it made when it did.

"He..." Makoto paused with a sigh, shutting her eyes. "He was hit with a Volleyball."

"Hmm?" the nurse hummed in wonder. "To a lot of the Volleyball team, that's been happening quite a lot as of late. What's going on during those practices they hold? Do you know?" she asked Makoto.

"Well, I..." Makoto began to answer her until...

**Knock!**

**Knock!**

"It must be another one," the nurse assumed. "Nijima-san, if it's not too much trouble..."

"Of course, I'll get the door," Makoto nodded and walked toward the office door and opened it. "Come in. The nurse will help you with-" she paused as she saw Hiro behind the door with a smile on his face.

"Hello," Hiro waved.

"Hiro," Makoto said in surprise.

"Mako," Hiro smirked as Makoto just stood there staring at him. "Aren't going to invite me in?"

"Huh? Oh, yes, of course," Makoto said as she moved out of the way for Hiro to make his way inside the nurse's office and closed the door. The nurse turned her head and saw Hiro.

"Oh, Nakamura-kun," the nurse smiled. "It's nice to see you. It's been a while since your last visit. It was last school year, I believe. I was actually starting to miss you." the nurse chuckled.

Hiro gave a short laugh. "I suppose it has, ma'am. Anyway, I came to check on Mishima. How's is he?" Hiro walked up to Mishima followed by Makoto. "Hey, Mishima? How are you feeling?"

"I'm... I'm okay," Mishima nodded. "Thank you, Nakamura-senpai."

"It was nothing," Hiro said. "You should also thank Miss President here too."

Mishima nodded as he looked at Makoto. "Thank you, Nijima-senpai."

"Your welcome, Mishima-kun," Makoto smiled. "I'm just glad you're alright."

"You sure he's okay?" Hiro asked the nurse.

"He's fine," the nurse answered. "But he does have a small bump courtesy of that Volleyball," she said as she still looked over Mishima. "He doesn't seem to have a concussion. But I suggest he heads home and gets some rest."

"Yes, I think that would be for the best," Makoto agreed.

"B-But..." Mishima interjected as everyone stared at him. "I have volleyball practice today! I-I can't afford to miss it." Mishima said as he sat up straight.

"Out of the question," Hiro sighed. "You just took a ball to the face. You should take the nurse's advice and head home."

"That's right," Makoto nodded. "It's good that you at least want to show up for the practice, but heading home sounds like the best option."

"You hear that, Mishima-kun?" the nurse said. "You can rest here until the bell rings for everyone change out of their gym uniform and head right on home."

"O-Okay," Mishima said putting his head down. "But Mr. Kamoshida won't be happy..." Mishima mentioned with downcast eyes.

Hiro and Makoto both share glances toward each other. Makoto cleared her throat. "That may be so, but you should put our own well-being first," she reasoned. "Make sure you get enough rest. We'll leave you to it, ma'am."

"Thank again for bringing him by," the nurse smiled while waving. "I'll see you both around."

"Bye," Hiro waved and he and Makoto walked out of the nurse's office and walked down the hall. "Glad Mishima is doing alright."

"From what the nurse said, he seems to be doing fine considering..." Makoto said sounding thankful. "Now, after I left, what happened during the rally?"

"Funny you should say that..." Hiro started to explain but at that moment a pair of students were walking by while chatting.

"I heard during the game in the gymnasium, Nakamura played and challenged Kamoshida to a match."

"Are you being serious?"

"Yeah, he and even the transfer student Amamiya both joined the game and challenged him."

"Really!? What happened? They lost, huh?"

"Nope, I heard from someone that they managed to score a point on him."

"Seriously? Damn, I wish I could've seen that."

The students soon made their way out of earshot. Makoto folded her arms and turned her head and moved her eyes on Hiro.

"You just couldn't help yourself, could you?" Makoto asked with knowing eyes.

Hiro shrugged. "I did what had to be done." Hiro shrugged and then looked at Makoto still making a face at him. "What?"

"Hiro..." Makoto sighed longly putting a hand on her forehead.

"Hey, I had my reasons for it," Hiro stated. "Besides..." Hiro clutched onto his scarf. "...he had it coming."

"I'm sure your reason must have been because I hear you and Mr. Kamoshida had a bit of a falling out," Makoto presumed.

"A 'bit of a falling out' is an understatement," Hiro expressed. He had a resentful look on his face as he stared at the floor.

Makoto noticed the look in her friend's eyes. She has her suspicions about the Volleyball team, judging by the bruises they received. Even Hiro, even though they stopped talking when they reached high school, she has seen him in the halls and they shared a class in their Second-year and couldn't help but make out an injury or two on him. Makoto thought on it a little more and wondered if she should probe Hiro for more info since she had little to go on for proof if the assault rumors are true. Though, she didn't want it to turn into an interrogation as Hiro would completely figure it out. She would feel like Sis would be rubbing off on her. Knowing Hiro, he'd probably comment if she were acting like Sis.

"I have to go," Makoto stated. "I need to go make sure the Student-Council rotation for the Rally is going smoothly."

"You do that," Hiro said. "I need meet up with-"

"With Sakamoto-kun and Amamiya-kun," Makoto finished.

"Not what I was going to say," Hiro replied.

"You didn't have to," Makoto commented. "I saw you sitting with them during the Rally."

"Is that a problem...?" Hiro wondered.

"Not at all," Makoto shook her head. "You're free to spend time with whoever you want."

"Who else am I going to hang out with?" Hiro asked. "My other friends from the Volleyball team just avoid me altogether much like the other students." Makoto averted her eyes to the side and rubs her arm. Hiro realized that he's talking to his childhood friend and turns around to toward Makoto.

"Sorry, Mako..." Hiro apologized. "I didn't mean to put it like that."

"It's alright, Hiro," Makoto smiled. "I have to go now."

"Yeah, I'll see you later," Hiro said smiling.

"Right," Makoto nodded as she then walked away. Amidst all the talking, Hiro felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He reached into it and pulled his phone from it. He got a few messages from Ren and read them over and typed out a few replies.

**[Chat IM]**

**[Yasuhiro N.]: You guys are splitting up?**

**[Yasuhiro N.]: That might be easier. Faster too...**

**[Yasuhiro N.]: I'll find you guys in the courtyard later when you're done.**

Hiro stows away his phone into his pocket. Hiro wonders if he can find a way to help by just over-hearing anyone talks about any rumors related to Kamoshida. He'll do that until Ren and Ryuji are able to get one of the players to talk. If they are able to have any luck with it but he had to faith in them and he wasn't going to count them out.

"We have to do this..." Hiro whispered to himself and began to find a good spot to listen on conversations and hoped no one thought he was up to no good.

**-O-**

Ren had a conversation with Volleyball Player from Hiro's class. But he completely danced around Ren's questions as he and his friend just decided to walk away from Ren. Ren pulled out his cell phone to message Ryuji and Hiro.

**[Chat IM]**

**[Ryuji S.]: How's it going?**

**[Ren A.]: You tell me first.**

**[Yasuhiro N]: That bad, huh?**

**[Yasuhiro N]: How about you, Ryuji...?**

**[Ryuji S.]: No good. Everyone's too freaked out about Kamoshida.**

**[Ryuji S.]: But I still got a lead. A first-year, a new member.**

**[Ryuji S.]: He just joined, so he might not be all wrapped in Kamoshida's web of bullshit yet.**

**[Ryuji S.]: Pretty sure he's in class 1-B.**

**[Ryuji S.]: Try the first-year classrooms. They're up on the third floor!**

**[Yasuhiro N.]: Worth a shot! Go find that first-year, Ren.**

**[Yasuhiro N.]: Tell us what you found out when we rendezvous in the courtyard.**

**[Ren A.]: Gotcha!**

Ren put away his phone and began his way up the stairs until he reached the third floor where the first-year classes are. He knew it would be easy to find the first-year by seeing the injuries from 'practice'. Finding the player was easy enough, Ren spotted him the second he made it up to the top of the stairs and approached him.

"Excuse me?" Ren asked the player who turned to face him. "Would you happen to be on the volleyball team?"

"Y-Yeah... I'm on the volleyball team," the player stuttered. "Whaddya want?"

Ren could approach this in a more secret way but at this point, he, Ryuji and Hiro were getting nowhere with this and decided to get straight down to the matter at hand.

"Is Kamoshida abusing you?" Ren asked.

"Wh-What...!?" the player mouthed flabbergasted. "Why would you say something like that? I mean, sure Mr. Kamoshida's strict, but it's like this for all the other sports teams, right?"

"I never seen a sport's team get as many injuries as they do," Ren wondered.

"Th-That's true..." said the player. "Though the special coaching he gave to Mishima-senpai was prolly far..."

"Special coaching, you say...?" Ren said as he sounded intrigued. "So, Kamoshida was giving Mishima special coaching, huh?" The first-year's eyes went wide, realizing what he just said.

"O-Oh, uh... I seriously don't know anything!" the player stumbled. "Sorry! Please stop talking to me! Ask anyone else if you wanna know anything more..." The bell jingle for the school broadcast played over the speakers.

"Attention, attention," said the loudspeaker. "All matches have been concluded. Please get ready to go home for the today..."

Ren got a message in the chat. It was probably from Ryuji or Hiro and checked it after he pulled out his phone.

**[Chat IM]**

**[Yasuhiro N.]: That's the bell to get dressed and head home...**

**[Ryuji S.]: Dammit, we're outta time. How'd it go?**

**[Yasuhiro N.]: Did you learn anything, Ren?**

**[Ren A.]: Take a wild guess.**

**[Ren A]: I didn't get much...**

**[Ryuji S.]: So you didn't have any luck either...**

**[Ryuji S.]: Mkay, let's regroup for now. See you in the courtyard?**

**[Yasuhiro N.]: Yep. Seeya there.**

**-O-**

**Day: Wednesday - Date: 4/13 - Time of Day: After School - Weather: Cloudy - Location: Shujin Courtyard**

Ren waiting in the courtyard for Ryuji and Hiro show. He decided to wait, knowing they'll show up eventually. From behind, he heard someone approaching.

"Amamiya-kun, can I talk to you for a sec?" he turned around and was met with Ann stopping in front of him.

"Oh, Takamaki-san," Ren said in surprise. "We haven't spoken in two days. If I was being honest, I was starting to think you were ignoring me. What did you want to talk about?"

"What I have to say won't take long, Amamiya-kun..." Ann promised. "It'll be quick."

"Alright," Ren nodded hands in his pockets. "Go on." Ann started to figure out what to ask as she thought on it a little bit.

"What's was that about the other day?" Ann asked with a fold of her arms. "Like, how you were late the other day was a lie and all. There's that weird rumor about you too."

"You heard about all rumors, huh?" Ren asked as he twirled one of his locks.

"It's kinda hard to ignore them," Ann remarked. "Are they true or not?"

"Whaddya want with him?" Ann immediately turned and saw Ryuji approaching, bringing himself into the conversation.

"Right back at you," Ann retorted. "You're not even in our class."

"We just happened to get to know each other," Ryuji announced.

"And you don't have to be in the same class to hang out with someone," Everyone looked over toward the newcomer as it was Hiro. "Ren, Ryuji?" Hiro greeted the boys. "Takamaki-san?" Hiro greeted to Ann.

"Hey, Nakamura-senpai," Ann nodded back. "Anyway..." Ann's face went serious. "What're you planning on doing to Mr. Kamoshida?"

"Huh?" Ryuji was taken aback by her question. "I see. I getcha." the faux-blonde glared. "You're all buddy-buddy with Kamoshida after all."

"This has nothing to do with you, Sakamoto!" Ann snapped.

"If you found out what he's been doin' behind your back, you'd dump him right away," Ryuji declared.

"Behind my back..?" Ann wondered in surprise. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Hiro figured out what Ryuji was saying. Hiro's heard the rumors about Ann Takamaki too. Hearing that she was 'Kamoshida's girl'. People assumed that the two were dating, the thought of a teacher and student made Hiro's nose wrinkle in disgust. Though, Hiro never believed at all if that turned out to be the case. Takamaki-san didn't seem like that kinda girl despite what people say about her like her looks to be in a relationship with Mr. Kamoshida. Though, it's obvious Kamoshida has an obsession with her since they saw that other 'version' of Takamaki from the castle.

"You wouldn't get it," Ryuji sigh.

"Anyway, people are already talking about you three," Ann mentioned. "Especially after that little 'show', you put on during the Rally. I don't know what you're trying to pull, but no one's gonna's help you." Ann's eyes went downcast. "I'm warning you, just in case. That's all."

"We appreciate the concern," Ren commented. "Thank you, Takamaki-san."

"Yes, thanks for the warning," Hiro added. Ann gave a small nod and then left three alone in the courtyard.

"Why's she gotta be so aggressive all the time...?" Ryuji expressed to no one in particular.

"She seemed a little annoyed but at least she seemed sincere since she was trying to warn us..." Ren stated. "You seem familiar with her Ryuji? How well do you know Takamaki-san?"

"We just went to the same middle school together," Ryuji explained.

"She's only trying to look out for us," Hiro noted. "Though, she's doing it in her own way. Let's get back on topic? Did you guys, perhaps, find anything out? I didn't hear any info worth talking out."

"I had no luck on my end," Ryuji frowned sighing. "What about you, Ren? Did anything like someone's name turn up?"

"Sure did," Ren stated. "Mishima. The same one from my class, right? Apparently, he's been receiving special coaching. Judging by the bruises on his face, it seems quite accurate."

"True," Ryuji agreed. "I always see the guy covered in bruises. Let's go talk to him before he leaves then."

"It wouldn't hurt to try and talk to him," Hiro said. "I'll be close by. He might not want to say anything if I'm standing right there."

"OK," Ren nodded. "Leave it to us then." The three went into the school building to find Mishima before he left Shujin.

**-O-**

They found the boy, back to wearing his uniform and holding his bag. He was about to make his way out of the building but Ryuji and Ren ran to stop him. Hiro hid behind around the corner watching the two approach Mishima.

"Hey, got a second?" Ryuji asked Mishima.

"Sakamoto...?" Mishima said as he turned around and saw Ryuji. "And you, too...!?" he added as he saw Ren.

"Hey, Mishima-san," Ren greeted. "Listen, we need to ask you some questions."

"Questions?" Mishima repeated still wide-eyed. "Me!?"

"C'mon, we just wanna chat," Ryuji stated. "Kamoshida's been 'coaching' you, huh? You sure it's not just physical abuse?"

Hiro noticed Ryuji wasn't certainly being tactful with trying to get the truth out of Mishima. Then again, at this point, Ryuji's idea was to get straight to the point and to not tiptoe around the situation.

"Certainly not!" Mishima quickly declared.

"What're you talkin' all polite for?" Ryuji asked. "Anyways... we saw him spike you today. Right in the face."

"That was because I'm not good at the sport..." Mishima said as he mumbled out the last few words, though, they were still audible.

"Still, that doesn't explain all the other bruises you've got," Ryuji observed.

Mishima's face turned serious. "They're from practice...!"

"Obviously," Ren interjected. "But you're not telling us how you got them because of Kamoshida, right?"

"Is he forcin' you to keep quiet?" Ryuji asked.

"That's..." Mishima averted his eyes, staring at the floor again. Hiro could see that Mishima wants to say something but Kamoshida has a pretty tight leash on him. And speaking of the literal devil...

_'Dammit, not now...'_ thought Hiro._ 'This bastard.'_

"What's going on here?" Kamoshida wondered as he walked up to the three. "Mishima, isn't it time to practice?"

"I-I'm not feeling well today..." Mishima vocalized quietly.

"What?" said Kamoshida. "Maybe you're better off quitting then." Mishima looked up at Kamoshida in surprise. "You're never going to improve that crappy form unless you show up to practice."

"Didn't you hear?" Ryuji questioned as he stomped up to Kamoshida. "He ain't feelin' well!" Kamoshida rolled his eyes and turned them back to Mishima.

"Well, Mishima?" said Kamoshida. "Are you coming to practice or not?"

"I'll go," Mishima decided. Hiro decided now was the time to step in.

"Wait a moment," Hiro inserted himself into the conversation.

"Now, what do you want, Nakamura?" Kamoshida asked glaring.

"I just came to say that Mishima got the 'OK' to go home," Hiro informed. "Mishima got hit directly in the face with a volleyball. I went to check on him in the nurse's office and she told Mishima that it was a good idea for him to head home. Isn't that right, Mishima?"

Mishima was spacing out, staring at Hiro until he snapped out of it and focused himself. "Yes, that's right. The nurse told me I should head home right away."

"Which means he will have to skip practice today," Hiro stated. "What do you guys think?" he asked Ren and Ryuji.

"I agree," Ren responded. "Mishima-san was hit hard with that volleyball from what I remember. Probably harder than when I got hit..." Ren had a slight smirk on his face toward Kamoshida. "But yes, he should head home."

"Yeah," Ryuji folded his arms. "He should head home."

"Looks like they agree too that Mishima should go home..." Hiro noted putting a hand in his pocket and clutching his scarf. "Even Miss Council President also believes Mishima should head straight home too and if she said that then she's obviously right."

Kamoshida was glaring daggers at Hiro. First, Hiro and even the criminal trash insult and embarrass him, beating him at his own game. Now, they and the 'ape' are all telling him what he can't do. He didn't who know who these pieces of garbage think they are getting in his way. Mark his words, he will find a way to dispose of them, sooner or later.

Kamoshida sighed frustratingly. Fine. You're free to go on home, Mishima. But tomorrow you're going to make up for it missing it today. Understand?"

"Yes..." Mishima replied quietly. "I understand."

Kamoshida walked up to Ryuji and glared down at him. "As for you, any more trouble and you'll be gone from this school for sure."

"Bastard..." Ryuji muttered turning away.

"Same goes for you," Kamoshida glared directly at Ren. "Didn't the principal tell you to keep in line?"

"You have an amazing spike," Ren smirked fully at the Shujin coach while he pushed up his glasses. Kamoshida simply only scoffed at Ren.

"Hmph. just don't get in the way of my practice." Kamoshida declared. "All these unsettling rumors are making the students anxious, after all."

"That's your own goddamn fault," Ryuji commented.

"This won't get us anywhere," Kamoshida stated and then started to walk away. "Shujin Academy is a place where those with aspirations come to learn. Unworthy students like yourselves don't have any right to be here. Get with the program!"

"Yes, sir," Mishima uttered out as Kamoshida walked away from the four.

"That asshole," Ryuji muttered as he watched Kamoshida leave. "He's gonna pay for this...!"

"There's no point," Mishima stated suddenly.

"Huh?" Ryuji wondered turning his head.

"What are you talking about?" Ren asked his classmate.

"Proving that he's physically abusing us... is meaningless," Mishima added. "Everybody knows... The principal, our parents... They all know, and they all keep quiet about it."

"This has gotta be a joke..." Ryuji mouthed wide-eyed.

"Don't be a pain," Mishima insisted. "You don't understand what I'm going through." he glanced in Hiro's direction. "But you, Nakamura-senpai, you understand it all too well, right?"

Hiro looked in Mishima's eyes until he brought his eyes down to the floor. He knew exactly what Mishima and the members of the Volleyball team are going through. It was true, Kobayakawa obviously knows, the team's parents know about it too. When you think about it, it is messed up that the parents would just turn a blind-eye just for Kamoshida. Hiro joined the team because as he was growing up, his Dad has always been a fan of sports. So, joining the Volleyball team at Shujin would make him happy. Hiro lied to his father and even his sister about the abuse, saying his injuries were just accidents. He figured his Dad might've had his suspicions but he let it slide, even though it hurt Hiro a lot to lie to his family the way he did.

Made him feel... terrible inside.

"Shouldn't you of all people know that nothings going to help...!?" Mishima said. Hiro and Ryuji flinched at Mishima's words. Ren looked sorrowfully at his classmate, his current situation must really beat hurting him in more ways than one. Mishima slowly walked outside of Shujin Academy, leaving the three boys to only stare at him.

"Dammit..." Ryuji cursed.

"What are we gonna do now...?" Ren asked. "We're not just gonna give up, are we?"

"I'll try one more time to persuade the other guys," Ryuji declared. "That's... all I can do." Ryuji soon walked away to try and find the other members of the team to persuade them once more.

"Crap..." Hiro muttered. "Well, this whole thing didn't go well."

"Can we really do this, Hiro?" Ren asked Hiro looked at him. "I'm not doubting us. The other players pretty much brushed us off. And Mishima told us that nothing we do will help. What do you think? Are we in over our heads at this point?"

"Hmm?" Hiro thought for a little. "We might be. We're on our own now, I think." Hiro crossed his arms. "But we can't give up. Kamoshida hasn't won... yet. C'mon, Ren, it's time to go home. Let's go get changed."

Ren complied with Hiro's idea to head to the locker room. Since Ryuji was trying again with the Volleyball team again, it meant he wasn't giving up. Even Hiro wasn't either. After everything Kamoshida had done to him, Hiro wasn't deterred by him and wasn't ready to let go of everything, especially during the volleyball match earlier today.

Ren figured that meant he means he shouldn't give up either.

* * *

**This chapter was going to be shorter but added more onto it. And you know what? I'm satisfied. Hiro and Ren challenging Kamoshida during the Volleyball Rally was something I got from other stories and streetlife34 suggested it to me.**

**Reviews...**

**Clarent excalibur: I look forward to showing off how Hiro reacts to the future palace rulers.**

**streetlife34: Ask and you shall receive, my good sir! I hope it was to your liking. I wanted to make it different from how other people had done it.**

**ShadowUzumaki55: Ah, yes. A character awakens their persona and they just become a complete badass. **

**twilightnite13: The Knight of Treachery is back! Oh, yeah. I got a general idea of how I want this story to go.**

**BlueRapter629: It happens. People get busy, as I do too. I'm also lazy. I may be leaning toward Hiro x Makoto. ****But I can agree there, Hiro and Ann do seem like they'd probably have a little more in common, you know with Kamoshida and everything.**

**Hiro x Ann will happen during those alternate chapters where Hiro is paired with a different girl.**

**ReallyLazyReader: You're thinking maybe Hiro should get Excalibur as a melee weapon. Been thinking about integrating Excalibur in the story. That should be pretty cool.**

**Chance Green G King: Thanks, Chance. Haven't seen a review from you in a while. Hope you like the story so far.**

**Walter Hitchcock: Thank you!**

**That's it for this one. Originally, there was going to be a talk between Hiro and Shiho in this chapter. But it didn't seem to flow too well with the chapter so I believe I'll have the conversation between them next chapter. **

**By the way, if anyone cares or not, I may hold a poll for Hiro's pairing whether he should stick to one girl or be paired with two. I already have the second girl in mind anyway. That poll will start after Kamoshida's arc is finished.**

**I'll be taking a bit of a break from this story to go and work on some other ones, maybe post a new one, who knows? But we'll back in a few weeks for this story.**

**I'll see you guys next time.**

**Later!**


	8. Decisions

**I do not own Persona **

**It owned by Atlus**

**I just own my OC's**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Persona 5: A Wolf's Strength Pt.8**

* * *

**Day: Wednesday - Date: 4/13 - Time of Day: Evening - Weather: Cloudy - Location: Leblanc**

Ren decided to head straight to bed from all the activity today. From playing in the Volleyball Rally with Hiro and going around the school looking for some of the volleyball team, to tell the truth about Kamoshida. He felt the need to go to bed and figure out what he, Ryuji, and Hiro could do about Kamoshida. As soon as he was about to get into the covers, his phone went off, letting him know he got a message and checked it.

**[Chat IM]**

**[Ryuji S.]: Hey, this don't make any damn sense.**

**[Ryuji S.]: The principal and even the parents know about the abuse.**

**[Ryuji S.]: Why ain't anybody speaking up!?**

Ren had to agree with Ryuji that the fact the principal and even the parents are okay with Kamoshida abusing the players, students, and even their children. Ren wondered it had to be because of volleyball.

**[Ren A.]: Because of volleyball.**

**[Yasuhiro N.]: Exactly. **

**[Ryuji S.]: It's basically because Kamodshida made the volleyball team famous, yeah?**

**[Ryuji S.]: Even so, that doesn't give him the right to do whatever he wants!**

**[Ryuji S.]: He's beating up kids up, and all they're allowed to do is endure.**

**[Yasuhiro N.]: Endure all for the sake of Kamoshida...**

**[Yasuhiro N.]: That bastard.**

**[Ren A.]: I concur.**

**[Ren A.]: Kamoshida's a prime example of a disgusting, human being.**

**[Ryuji S.]: Right!?**

**[Ryuji S.]: And that follower of his doesn't give one single shit...**

Ren rose an eyebrow at the follower of Kamoshida's Ryuji mentioned. Kamoshida probably had a lot of followers at Shujin Academy judging by how popular he seemed to be at the school. Ryuji had to be a little more specific on what he meant by the 'follower'.

**[Ren A.]: Who are you talking about, Ryuji?**

**[Ryuji S.]: Ann Takamaki. You met her in the courtyard, remember?**

**[Ryuji S.]: You should know her. I mean, she's in your class, dude.**

**[Ryuji S.]: Ugh! What a load of bull!**

**[Ryuji S.]: I can't let it end like this.**

**[Ryuji S.]: I'm gonna try and find someone who knows about what's going on with Kamoshida during break tomorrow.**

**[Ryuji S.]: Just you watch. I ain't giving up!**

**[Ren A.]: We're with you, Ryuji. Right, Hiro?**

**[Yasuhiro N.]: Yeah...**

**[Yasuhiro N.]: I'm with you guys. We'll find a way.**

Ren pulled the covers over him and felt his eyes become heavy and soon fell asleep as the exhaustion from today kicked in.

**-O-**

The next early morning Ren was walking to Shujin Academy the next early morning. On his way, he was listening to a pair of Shujin girl's chatting in front of him as they walked.

"Did you see Mr. Kamoshida play yesterday? He was so awesome! I think I might ask for his autograph after school."

"I dunno if that's such a good idea... I hear that you shouldn't go near the PE faculty office. People say you can hear weird sounds, like screaming, even though no one's there..."

"What? That's probably just a rumor spread by fans to scare the competition."

Ren had to wonder if the screams these girls were talking about had something to do with the castle and how you heard screams when inside the dungeon from the prisoner's being tortured. He had to wonder if since the castle and the school are linked together, could it mean that the screams from the castle are somehow being heard in the real world? It's possible since that day after school, Ren's head began to hurt, the school turned into the castle for a brief second. Ren assumed that anything could be possible with a world like that, though, he's still having a tough time grasping the concepts of that said world.

**-O-**

**Day: Thursday - Date: 4/14/20XX - Time of Day: Early Morning - Weather: Cloudy - Location: Shujin Academy, First Floor**

Hiro finished grabbing his textbook from his locker for his first-period class. He closed his locker and saw Makoto over by her own locker, also grabbing the necessary textbook. He went up to her to go and greet her.

"Morning, Mako," Hiro said waving with a smile.

"Hmm?" Makoto noticed him and smiled as well. "Good Morning, Hiro. So, I have to know..." Makoto's expression turned serious.

"Huh?" Hiro said with confusion. "Know what?"

"Do you have any plans with Sakamoto-kun and Amamiya-kun today?" Makoto wondered. "I heard yesterday that after your 'stunt' at the Rally, the two of them were going around the school talking to the members of the volleyball team."

Hiro folded his arms. "Not much gets past you, doesn't it, Mako?" Hiro asked with a smile.

"So, you're not denying it then," Makoto commented closing her locker, holding her textbook to her chest. "I heard about it from a Student Council member. Telling me they were going about the school and seemed like they were asking them questions. Since you have been spending time with the two of them I assumed you were also doing the same."

"No," Hiro stated shaking his head. "Well, I can't anyway." Hiro rubbed the back of his neck. "There's a reason why they were asking the volleyball team questions."

"Well, what was the reason?" Makoto asked.

Hiro had to come with a plausible reason for why Ren and Ryuji were going around Shujin to talk to the volleyball team. He didn't want to mention anything about the abuse, so he had to come up with a small lie to Makoto. Now, it hurt a little to lie to her like this but it's the only way to keep her from getting suspicious of what him, Ren, and Ryuji were up to yesterday.

"They were both going around asking if the team were alright, for me..." Hiro said.

"For you?" Makoto wondered.

"Yeah, you noticed how hurt the team mostly looks, right?" Hiro questioned. "Since the team just avoids me now, I can't talk to them. So, Amamiya and Sakamoto were nice enough to go around and ask them if they're injuries were bothering them, for my sake."

"I see," Makoto seemed surprised. "That's... very nice of them." Makoto smiled. "I'm glad that they would do that for you. I can see why you wouldn't be able to do it yourself since the team avoids you." Makoto sighed in irritation. "But I still can't believe they would avoid you over something so trivial like quitting a sports club. I mean, they were your friends, right?"

"Yeah," Hiro sighed. "I was friends with some of them. Not best friends, though. Besides..." Hiro shrugged his shoulders. "I only have one best friend."

"Oh, who's that...?" Makoto asked.

"Do I really have to spell it out...?" Hiro smirked at Makoto. "You."

Makoto went wide-eyed in surprise. She was honestly astonished that Hiro still considered her a best friend since they didn't talk for three years since her father's death. Makoto has always been serious about studying when it came to school. She became particularly serious about it when she reached high school. That, and her sister's request for her to be very diligent about her academics. She would occasionally notice Hiro but never went over to talk to him. Part of her felt bad for not speaking to her childhood friend. But, it's at least nice to know that Hiro still saw her as a friend. She assumed that she still saw him as a best friend too even after those few years of not talking.

"That's very nice of you to say, Hiro," Makoto gave him a pleasant smile. "Thank you."

"I mean it," Hiro said keeping his smile. "You're welcome. C'mon, let's get to class." Hiro looked at his cell phone. "The first bell is gonna ring in a little bit."

"Right," Makoto agreed. "We don't want to be late." Makoto followed alongside Hiro walking toward their classroom.

**-O-**

**Day: Thursday - Date: 4/14/20XX - Time of Day: Afternoon - Weather: Sunny - Location: Classroom 2-D**

Ren was sitting in class listening to Mr. Ushimaru give a lecture. He was paying attention until his phone vibrated in his pocket. He brought his phone out and saw a message in the chat.

**[Chat IM]**

**[Ryuji S.]: So about witnesses...**

**[Yasuhiro N.]: Dude, are you serious?**

**[Yasuhiro N.]: Couldn't you save this 'till later? We're in class.**

**[Ryuji S.]: I can't focus on this...**

**[Ren A.]: Guess it can't be helped...**

**[Ren A.]: What about witnesses, Ryuji?**

**[Ryuji S.]: I was wondering if we could get something outta Takamaki.**

**[Ren A.]: Why?**

**[Yasuhiro N.]: More like how?**

**[Ryuji S.]: Just hear me out.**

**[Ryuji S.]: You know how we didn't get a single thing outta the volleyball team?**

**[Ryuji S.]: I figured it'd be a good idea to talk to someone who knows them.**

**[Ryuji S.]: Takamaki's BFF's with a starter. A girl named Suzui.**

**[Yasuhiro N.]: Ah, Suzui-san. I know her. Nice girl.**

**[Yasuhiro N.]: I don't think you've met her yet, Ren...**

**[Yasuhiro N.]: She's a second-year like you and Ryuji.**

**[Ryuji S.]: Me and her have the same class too...**

**[Ryuji S.]: I tried talking to that girl during break, but got nothing.**

**[Ryuji S.]: That's why we should have Takamaki talk to her.**

**[Ryuji S.]: Then again, I guess it'll be hard getting her to help us...**

**[Ryuji S.]: Sorry. Lemme see what else I can come up with.**

**-O-**

**Day: Thursday - Date: 4/14/20XX - Time of Day: After School - Weather: Sunny - Location: Shujin Academy, First Floor**

Hiro and Makoto made their way out of their classroom. Both of them ended up eating lunch together at lunchtime, as well as studying in the library. Going through their class subjects, occasionally helping each other.

"Today was nice," Makoto smiled. "I forgot how good it was for the two of us to just spend time together at lunchtime like today. Makes me think we're in middle school again."

"Or back in grade school," Hiro said smirking. "It certainly does feel like that since you still have that same pencil case back when we were in grade school." He sent Makoto a knowing glance her way.

Makoto's eyes widened, remembering the Buchimaru-kun pencil case her Dad bought for her when she was a kid. A light blush of embarrassment dusted her cheeks as she stared at Hiro.

"Wha-Hiro...!" Makoto said flabbergasted. "You! Y-You're..." Makoto stuttered as stopped as she saw Hiro still giving her a simpering smile. "You are terrible sometimes."

"Thank you," Hiro said smirking proudly. "I try." Hiro felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. "Oh, I should get that."

"Of course," Makoto said. "I'm going to be heading back up to the library. Come find me after if you want to keep studying like earlier. That is if you have to get Hamuko-chan from school?"

"Hamuko's fine," Hiro reassured. "She's has her cell phone, in case, she has to call for help and Dad taught her how to defend herself, if need be. So, I wouldn't mind studying in the library. I'll be there, just give a little while and I'll come to find you there."

"Okay," smiled Makoto. "I'll see you, then." Makoto went on her way up the stairs to the library. Hiro pulled out his phone and saw the messages from Ryuji.

**[Chat IM]**

**[Ryuji S.]: Yo, Hiro.**

**[Ryuji S.]: I wanted to talk to you and Ren about what we're gonna do about Kamoshida.**

**[Ryuji S.]: Come over to the courtyard. I already messaged Ren to come by too.**

**[Ryuji S.]: I'll be waiting.**

**[Yasuhiro N.]: On my way.**

He quickly messaged Ryuji and put away his phone and started to make his way down to meet Ryuji over in Shujin Academy's courtyard.

**-O-**

Ren got Ryuji's message to meet down at the courtyard. But before that, Ren wanted to go to the library. Once he walked inside the library, he was met with several stares from the other students inside. As well as the whispers that were heard from the students.

"What's he doing in here?"

"I didn't think someone like him would even come to the library?"

"Don't stare! He might get the idea to beat us up! Or worse..."

Ren had to resist the urge to roll his eyes from the not-so-quiet comments. No matter what, it was going to be like this wherever he goes.

"Oh... is this your first time in the library?" Ren was alerted by the voice from a female student behind the main desk in the library. He approached the desk to talk to the student. "It's my job to explain the rules of the library to first-time visitors." The girl explained. "You're only allowed to borrow one book at a time. Once you finish, please be sure to retur- Huh?"

Ren rose an eyebrow. "Is something the matter?"

"That badge..." she gestured to Ren's number 2 badge on his blazer. "Are you a second-year?"

"Sure am," Ren nodded.

"Oh, could you be that transfer student I keep hearing about!?" she asked.

_'And here we go again...'_ Ren groaned in his head.

"Yeah..." Ren confirmed for the girl.

"I knew it..." sighed the girl. "Um... I don't mean to be rude, but maybe you shouldn't come here. See, you're scaring the students too..."

Ren turned his head and noticed the students inside the library were giving wary looks. Well, all except for one dark brown-haired girl who seemed too pre-occupied studying.

"So, are you saying that I'm not allowed to use the library?" Ren asked. "That I'm not allowed to be in here? I understand but that's a little odd. I thought the library was open to everyone."

"It is open to everyone," the girl explained. "Oh... no, I didn't mean that you can't use the library. But..."

_'So, I'm not allowed anywhere I go...'_ Ren thought irritably._ 'I guess there's nothing I can do about that.'_

Ren knew as well he was making a lot of students inside a bit concerned by his presence in the library. He thought it was best to just see if it was possible to borrow a book from here and just leave so that way he won't make the other students nervous anymore.

"Well, how about this...?" Ren proposed. "How about I just borrow a book from here and then I'll just leave the library."

"OK, that sounds fine," the girl said. "Go ahead and pick any book you want."

Ren only gave the girl a nod as he went to go look around the library for a book to take with him. He still got the occasional looks from students, though some seemed to just look elsewhere, probably trying to avoid eye contact with him. While looking for a book, he heard two male students having a conversation. They were whispering but they were still loud enough to hear if anyone were standing next to them.

"Well, there's our student council president,"

Ren looked who they were talking about. They were referring to the brown-haired girl that seemed too busy studying to notice anyone in the library.

"Is she reading all those huge, complex books to study for college exams? That's really intimidating."

"She borrowed a sci-fi book the other day though. Maybe we have something in common."

"Oh, I'm sure, she'd never talk to people like us."

"That's not all true. I saw her hanging out with Nakamura at lunch today. The way they were talking was like the way old friends talked. They seemed close, you don't think that...?"

"Nah, there's no way they're a thing. They could just be close friends. But even still, even if she has friends, she still too driven and serious. That's why she's always getting top grades. I can see why the principal put so much hope in her."

Ren brought his attention over to the brown-haired girl studying. The two boys talking called her 'student council president'. Ren remembered now that this is the girl that Hiro waved to back at the volleyball rally. She also helped him with Mishima when he got hit with the volleyball. Hiro referred to her as student council president during the rally as well.

Ren found it a little amusing that Hiro had ties to someone like the council president. He had to wonder what the story behind them was. But for now, he should focus on finding a book so he could leave and meet up with Hiro and Ryuji. He settled going for a book called 'Arsene Lupin, the Gentleman Thief'.

He looked at the cover and had to wonder if the Arsene from this book had some kind of connection to his Persona, Arsene. Ren assumed he'd figure it out eventually and went to ask the girl at the desk so he could borrow the book.

"Excuse me?" Ren addressed the girl at the counter. "I'd like to borrow this book right here." he handed the book to the girl.

"This one, yes? OK, be careful with it."

Ren nodded in thanks and then walked down the third and second floors and began to make his way to the door that leads to the courtyard. But, in front of the doors, there was a black-haired girl. The girl had a bruise on her forehead that was slightly covered by her bangs. Ren has seen this girl before, she was the girl that he would usually see Ann talking to, Shiho Suzui. Maybe he'll be able to ask her about Kamoshida's practice. Ren soon approached Shiho and stopped in front of her. The girl was only looking at her cell phone with a sad look, not even noticing Ren's presence near her. It took her only a second later to realized he was there.

"What?" Shiho said staring at Ren. "Oh..." she looked down. "I'm in the way, aren't I? Sorry..."

"Don't worry about it..." Ren assured. "You're fine. But, I just wanted to ask... are you okay? You look hurt."

"Huh...? Um, well..." Shiho tried to answer Ren properly but couldn't quite find her words, but she didn't quite want to say anything about her injuries. She looked up at Ren and got a good look at him. "Hm, you don't look familiar." Taking in Ren's features, she realized who he was. "Could you be that transfer student from Class D?"

Ren stiffened a little bit but gave her a nod. "Yes. That's me."

"Um, this might not be any of my business," Shiho vocalized. "But don't let the rumors get to you, OK...?"

Ren was honestly shocked that someone would feel concern for him and his situation at school. Ren assumed that Shiho must be a really nice girl, she's worried about him even though he could also tell she was going through a tough time herself.

"Thank you for saying that..." Ren said. "I mean, they don't bother me. But, why do you say that?"

"Well, I've helped with a similar situation before..." Shiho stated. "My best friend is often misunderstood too, all because of her looks..." Shiho shook her head. "Ah, sorry. I didn't mean to drag on like that."

"No, you don't need to be sorry," Ren claimed. "It's okay. Sometimes, it's best to just try thinking about something else rather than anything negative."

Shiho nodded. "Anyway, I have to go to practice... I'll see you around." Shiho walked past Ren, still with the sad look on her face.

She seemed to be in a bit of a hurry, even though she was probably dreading what she was going to go endure. Ren felt bad for her, he wished he could've said a little more to try and make the girl feel better. Ren approached the door and walked out into the courtyard.

He made his way over to the hangout area in the courtyard. There, he saw Hiro and Ryuji. Hiro was leaning on the table with Ryuji standing with his arms folded, looking pissed off. Hiro gave Ren a small wave in greeting as Ren exchanged one back.

"Dammit, what the hell..." Ryuji uttered his curses.

"I'm guessing you had no luck finding someone who will talk...?" Ren wondered as he twirled one of his bangs.

"Makin' it obvious, aren't I?" Ryuji frowned at him. Ryuji slammed his fist against the vending machine near him. "All of 'em kept sayin' the same shit Mishima was talkin' about...! Kamoshida had to have told 'em something!"

"No surprise there..." Hiro spoke up. "It was not just me, but everyone who is on the team must keep the secret about the practice. Not even on the team anymore and I still have to keep my mouth shut. I either keep the secret or I get expelled from the school. I know. Bullshit, huh?"

"Yeah," Ryuji scoffed in agreement. "Complete bullshit." Ryuji gave out a disgruntled sigh. "At this rate... it looks like we'll have to go to him directly..."

"That might be the only choice..." Ren commented. "We should've probably started with that."

"I know..." Ryuji agreed. "But seriously, isn't there something we can do? No way I'm gonna give in like this!"

"Neither of us is giving up, Ryuji," Hiro conveyed. "We just need to come up with some way to deal with Kamoshida since no one in Shujin will help."

"Can you think of anything, Ren?" Ryuji asked. Ren put a hand to his chin and started brain-storming in his head about what they can do about Kamoshida.

"We could try a sneak attack," Ren suggested. "Well, that's only one of the ideas. But there's three of us and only one of him. We'd just have to wait until he's all alone."

"That'd be fine if we could do it without gettin' caught," Ryuji noted. "But... if we did, we'd be seriously done for. You got any other ideas...?"

"Then, we try talking to the cops," Ren said.

"So you wanna tell 'em about the castle?" Ryuji questioned. "They'd never believe us..."

"True, but leave the castle part out," Ren informed. "We just try to explain to them that a teacher is verbally and physically abusing students. They've got to believe it somehow."

"The cops, huh?" Hiro said with a low voice. The police could do something. Maybe if he really talked to his Dad about the whole thing, he could help them out. And it would ease any tension between him and his Dad, but Hiro felt like he didn't want to get his Dad involved. But Hiro felt it wouldn't help since his Dad is already sort of suspecting him with what happened between him and Mr. Kamoshida. If he said anything about this, his Dad will likely take action. Not as a detective, but as a parent. Hiro shook off the thoughts and decided that it'll be best to leave the police and his Dad out of this.

"I don't think the cops will be able to do much," Hiro informed. "Trust me on that. Plus Ren, you have a record on you. Kamoshida will probably use that against you if it came to that."

"Ah, I didn't think about that," Ren said putting his hands in his pockets. "Well, that's kinda all I've got." Ren went back to thinking of an idea of how they were going to get at Kamoshida. He couldn't think of any normal tactic to go about it. There had to be some way they could go after Shujin's so-called 'king'. Wait, king? King! "Gentleman, I got it." Hiro and Ryuji looked at Ren wondering what Ren's next idea was. "The King Kamoshida from the castle. We go after and punish the king."

"The king...?" Ryuji repeated. "You mean that other world's Kamoshida?"

"Hmm?" Hiro hummed in thought. "That does sound like a credible idea."

"Yeah, I didn't think of that, but..." Ryuji said scratching his head. "Is there any meaning to-"

"I finally found you..." called a familiar voice from an unknown source to the three teens in the courtyard. Hiro got off the table and moved his head from left to right as Ryuji and Ren did the same. The three never noticed a small black cat soon approach them.

"You guys say something?" Ryuji asked the two.

"No, I didn't," Hiro answered.

"Neither did I," Ren said. "Still, that voice sounds very familiar." the cat jumped onto the table as the three noticed the cat jump right onto the table.

"Don't think you can get away with not paying me back for helping you," the 'cat' informed the teen's as if it knows them.

"I-It's not possible..." Hiro uttered. "But it is. It's the same voice and everything." Hiro definitely recognized the voice. There was no mistaking it all.

"Yeah, you're right..." Ryuji said still wide-eyed.

"Morgana," Ren stated. "Is it really you?"

The normal-looking 'cat' with bright blue eyes, a yellow collar and silky-looking black fur shook its head. "How dare you, up and leaving me the other day!"

"The cat's talkin'!?" Ryuji shouted.

"I am NOT a cat!" Morgana claimed. "This is just what happened when I came into this world! It was a lot of trouble finding you three."

"Wait... you came to our world!?" Ryuji asked as he gave out a surprised gasp. "Does that mean you got a phone!?"

"You don't need one when you're at my level," Morgana informed licking his paw. "I did get pretty lost when making my escape though..."

"That aside, why can you talk!?" Ryuji demanded. "You're a cat!"

"How should I know!?" Morgana questioned.

"You both hearin' this too...?" Ryuji asked Ren and Hiro.

"Yeah..." Hiro said slowly. "And I'm having a very hard time comprehending it." Hiro looked at Ren. "What about you, Ren?"

Ren looked at both Ryuji and Hiro and only had this to say: "Meow?" Hiro had to stifle his laughter pressing his mouth into his palm. Ren came off as a stoic and calm guy, but it was funny to Hiro that Ren had a sense of humor under all that calm.

"This is no time to be joking around!" Ryuji yelled in irritation not cheering Hiro's enthusiasm.

"You guys are having a rough time with this, hm?" Morgana asked. "I heard you mention something about witnesses."

"Oh shuddup," Ryuji said.

"Yes, we are having a difficult time trying to figure this out," Hiro vocalized. "So, Morgana, do you think you can help us?"

"Perhaps?" Morgana voiced in a enigmatic tone.

"Perhaps?" Hiro chorused raising an eyebrow. "Can you help or not?"

"Well, I could tell you a thing or two about what to do about Kamoshida," Morgana smirked and looked in Ren's direction. "Ren over here was pretty close just a moment ago."

"God, that condescendin' attitude!" Ryuji commented. "This thing's gotta be Morgana!"

"You were still doubting me!?" Morgana glared up at the faux-blonde.

Ren noticed there were students roaming around the courtyard. He also noticed a teacher and a student looking around the courtyard. "Shh, you both might want to quiet down." Ren shushed the both of them as he pointed at the teacher and student.

"We really have to be looking for a cat in a busy time like this...?"

"I just heard a meow somewhere near here. Didn't you hear it?"

"Make sure you check every nook and cranny around."

"Meow...?" Ryuji wondered in confusion. "Does that mean only us three can understand what you're sayin'?"

"Looks like it," Morgana casually replied.

"What the hell's goin' on...?" Ryuji questioned scratching his head.

"Let's get back on topic," Ren stated. "Morgana, is what you mentioned true? You can help do something about Kamoshida?"

"I can," Morgana smiled. "But you'll have to listen to what I have to say."

"Sounds easy enough," Hiro said. "Right now though, talking here might not be the be safe."

"I agree," Ryuji nodded and then quickly snatched up Morgana by the yellow collar, the 'cat' meowed in protest from the sudden action. "Here, stick it in your bag for now! It should be small enough to fit!"

"Hey!" Morgana yelled as he thrashed about in Ryuji's grasp. "How dare you treat me like-"

"You probably should've been a little more gentle, Ryuji..." Hiro remarked. "Just relax, Morgana. We're going to find a place that's a little more secluded so we can talk." Hiro turned over to Ren. "Hey, Ren? Do you think you could take Morgana in your bag?"

"Um, I guess..." Ren said. "But why me?"

"Believe me, I would but my bag's a little bit cramped," Hiro insisted. "So, could you?"

"Well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt," Ren sighed as he agreed to let Morgana in his bag.

"So, where are we headin'?" Ryuji asked Hiro. "The school rooftop?"

"That's right," Hiro affirmed. "The school rooftop. We'll get some privacy from up there. Let's hope that no one's up there."

**-O-**

The walk to the stairs went by smoothly enough. When Hiro, Ryuji, and Ren were walking up to the school roof, Morgana would occasionally move around inside Ren's bag. As they were walking by, some students couldn't help but notice Ren's bag shuffling on its own. Ren realized the looks he was getting but faced forward, focusing on only getting to the roof. Once the teen's finally made it to the very top of the school, Ren let Morgana out of his bag. Morgana quickly leaped out and stretched himself.

**[Persona 5 OST: Wicked Plan]**

"Don't be so rough with me!" Morgana frustratingly yelled.

"Enough of that!" Ryuji said wanting to get back on topic. "You said you know how we can do something about Kamoshida, right?"

"Go on and tell us," Hiro added. "I'm curious about how we're going to go about it."

"It has to do with what Ren was talking about earlier," Morgana smirked. "You'll need to attack his castle."

"What do you mean...?" Ryuji questioned.

"You're talking about the castle from that 'other world'?" Ren wondered. "Since that castle is how Kamoshida views the school."

"You really do pick up on things fast," Morgana said to Ren, sounding impressed. "Kamoshida doesn't realize what happens in there, but it's deeply connected to the depths of his heart. Thus, if the castle disappears, it would naturally impact the real Kamoshida."

"What'd happen?" Ryuji wondered.

"Yeah..." Hiro said. "Impact him how?"

"A Palace is a manifestation of a person's distorted desires," Morgana explained. "So, if that castle were no more..."

"His desires would go and he'd become an honest man," Ren finished.

"Precisely!" Morgana exclaimed smiling. "Once again, Ren, you amaze me."

"For real!?" Ryuji said, eyes wide. "H-He's gonna turn good!?"

"That would be quite a turnout," Hiro vocalized tugging his bandana.

"But... is that really gettin' back at him?" Ryuji asked.

"Erasing a Palace essentially means forcing the owner to have a change of heart," Morgana clarified. "However, even though their warped wants disappear, the crimes they committed remain."

"True," Hiro stated in agreement. "If we are able to erase the Palace, it doesn't mean that the things Kamoshida's done will all go away like it never happened." Hiro crossed his arms over his chest. "He'll have to live it, for the rest of his life."

"That's right!" Morgana agreed. "He will become unable to bear the weight of those crimes, and he'll confess them himself!"

"You for real!?" Ryuji said. "That's possible!?"

"And since the Palace no longer exist, he'll forget what we did there as well," Morgana stated. "Not only will we be able to bring Kamoshida down, but there won't even be a trace of our involvement."

"That's amazing!" Ryuji grinned. "You are one incredible cat!"

"True, except for the cat part!" Morgana claimed.

"Okay, now for the next question...?" Ren said. "How do we get rid of the Palace, Morgana? I don't believe you explained how we handle that?"

"By stealing the Treasure held within," Morgana answered.

"Stealing...?" Ryuji wondered in confusion.

"I'll tell you more once you agree to go ahead with this," Morgana claimed. "It's my most valuable secret plan, after all. If you wanna help out, I'll gladly teach you. What's your call?"

"We tried and talked about normal methods, but those haven't worked out," Hiro noted. "I'm in. Who knows? We may have more luck doing it this way."

"Our luck's runnin' dry lookin' for witnesses," Ryuji added. "Guess we have no choice but to go along..."

Hiro and Ryuji were right. Normal methods will not work since the school pretty much protects Kamoshida and looking for witnesses definitely had not worked out. So, it seems the only feasible option was to go with Morgana's idea.

"There's no other way..." Ren commented. "Seems like this is our only option."

"Good," Morgana responded smiling. "Oh, right. There's one more thing I should tell you."

"Okay..." Ren said slowly. "I'm sensing there's a 'but' if we do it this way."

"If we erase a Palace, there is no doubt that the person's distorted desires will be erased as well," Morgana said. "But desires are what we need to survive. The will to sleep, eat, fall in love-those sorts of things."

"What're you gettin' at?" Ryuji inquired, tilting his head.

"If we take away the desires, then what's going to happen?" Hiro asked.

"If all of those yearnings were to vanish, they'd be no different than someone who has shutdown entirely," Morgana clarified. "They may even die if not given proper care. So..."

**[OST End]**

"They might die...!?" Ryuji yelled in surprise.

"Will you listen to everything I have to say first?" Morgana glared at the blonde.

"Would their death be our fault...?" Ryuji asked worriedly.

"Aren't you determined enough to face those kinds of risks?" Morgana remarked.

"Damn, well that's... Hmm?" Hiro hummed before he gulped a lump back as he went back to clutching his scarf. Hiro's never thought about anything like killing someone. Especially killing Suguru Kamoshida. Now, Hiro honestly hated Kamoshida after everything he's done to him and the rest volleyball team but he never thought about killing him. It would honestly leave a horrible taste in his mouth if it came down that. Then, he would really feel like he could never look his Dad in the eyes ever again. Since his Dad would definitely be on the case if a teacher suddenly died. Not just his Father, but he would also feel like he wouldn't be able to stare Hamuko or Makoto in the eye anymore if he was the cause of someone dying.

"I... I don't know what to say about this..." Hiro uttered.

"Hey, Ren... what do you think?" Ryuji asked Ren.

Ren put his head down to think. Kamoshida is a horrible man, that much is true if anyone can see it. But, killing him is not what Ren had in mind at all. Sure, the people who are being abused by Kamshida would be safe with him gone, but it still wasn't right to cause his death. Ren already had a criminal record for an assault, he didn't want to add murder in there, too.

"I don't want to kill him," Ren avowed to Morgana.

"O-Of course not..." Ryuji stammered.

"I think so too..." Hiro nodded biting his lip.

"Sheesh... I come all this way, and this is what I get," Morgana remarked. "It's not like anyone will ever find out."

"That's not the point!" Ryuji declared.

"Keep in mind, Morgana, the three of us are only high school students..." Ren stated. "Neither one of us had ever done that kind of thing."

"Yeah and look, those Shadow's are one thing, but killing an actual person would only make us regret it for the rest our lives," Hiro mentioned.

"Right!" Ryuji added. "And if we just go around secretly doin' whatever we want, we'd be no better than that effin' Kamoshida..."

"Isn't this your only option?" Morgana questioned with an irritated sigh. "I'll come back later. Make sure you've made your decision by then."

"Man, we're gettin' all worked up over nothing..." Ryuji said. "Dammit!" He looked at Ren and Hiro. "I'll try and see if I can figure out another way... C'mon, let's get outta here."

**-O-**

The three left the school rooftop and just went their separate ways for the day as soon as leaving the roof. Hiro was headed to the library, Ryuji was going to try asking around the school some more, and Ren was walking out of the school, stopping in front of the gate. There was nothing for him left to do at the school, so heading home sounded like the best idea. Just as he was about to leave, he received a message from Ryuji.

**[Chat IM]**

**[Ryuji S.]: Hey, I heard something that got my attention.**

**[Ren A.]: What do you got, Ryuji?**

**[Ryuji S.]: About that Suzui girl... Looks like rumors are going around about her and Kamoshida.**

**[Ryuji S.]: If they're true, it's no wonder I couldn't get her to talk.**

**[Ryuji S.]: Still, something doesn't seem right.**

**[Ren A.]: What's up...?**

**[Ren A.]: Do you know something?**

**[Ryuji S.]: It's nothing so clear cut, but...**

**[Ryuji S.]: I've known Takamaki and Suzui since middle school.**

**[Ryuji S.]: There's just no way Kamoshida's their type, you know?**

**[Ren A.]: I may not know Takamaki-san or Suzui-san too well but even I can agree that Kamoshida is not on their list.**

**[Ryuji S.]: I know right...**

**[Ryuji S.]: So... I gotta wonder where those rumors came from.**

**[Ryuji S.]: Well, whatever. I'll try asking around some more.**

Ren started on his way to the train station. He boarded the subway in Aoyama-Ichtome that took him straight to the Teikyu Building. He went through the ticket gate and went to the right and went down the stairs. Though, when Ren was walking outside the building he heard a familiar voice at the Subway train station. He saw Ann Takamaki talking or more like shouting on the phone with someone.

"Would you please give it a rest!?" Ann spoke. "I told you, I'm not feeling up to it..." Ren noticed her eyes widen in surprise. "Wait, what? That's not what you promised! And you call yourself a teacher!? This has nothing to do with Shiho! Ah..." Ren could hear the rings, signaling the person on the other line had hung up.

It was obvious she was talking to Kamoshida since Shiho was brought up in the conversation. It was apparent to Ren that Kamoshida was certainly trying to get Ann to sleep with him. The thought of that made Ren sick. As soon as she was hung up on, Ann curled in a ball putting her face in her knees.

"Shiho's... starting position..." she spoke softly yet it was audible. Ren couldn't stand to see her like this. He felt he had to do something, he couldn't just leave Takamaki alone when she just looked helpless. He'll have to try to get her to talk to him. Ren started to slowly approach the girl to get her attention.

"Ahem..." Ren cleared his throat. "Takamaki-san?" Ann brought her head up to look at Ren, staring up at him with watery eyes. "Hi." Ren gave a small wave with his hand. "Um, I just wanted to ask you if you were alright? You seem very... distressed."

"Huh?" Ann's eyes were wide as she stood back up. "Wait... Amamiya-kun, were you listening?"

"Well, not on purpose," Ren honestly stated. "But I may have eavesdropped a little." There was no point in lying about it.

"Haven't you heard of privacy?" Ann asked him with a glare. Ren averted his eyes shyly as he rubbed the back of his neck. Ann only sighed as she put her head down. "No, I was out of line. Sorry, Amamiya-kun."

"It's okay," Ren said. "You didn't do anything."

Ann rubbed her eyes to get rid of the unfallen tears from her eyes. "So how much did you hear...?"

"You were talking about your friend..." Ren noted. "Suzui-san, right?"

"Shiho..." Ann softly murmured. "It's nothing at all." she declared quickly to Ren. "Nothing..." her expression became one of sadness once more. It felt like she was saying that her own best friend was nothing to her. She gave Ren one last look and wiped her eyes once again and quickly ran off.

"Takamaki-san, wait!" Ren shouted trying to reaching his hand out to her but she was already long gone. Ren couldn't ignore this. He noticed the incredibly sad look in her eyes. It had to be Kamoshida. Why would it be someone else if her best friend was involved? Ren quickly dashed after Ann, noticing that she ran down the stairs into the Shibuya Station Underground Walkway. He saw her make her way down the steps and head more into the underground. There were a lot of people inside the station, but Ren had to wonder how hard could it be to find the only person who had blonde hair like hers in this station? Thankfully, it didn't take him long to find her as she stopped in front of one of the different-colored support beams.

"Takamaki-san!" Ren called as he approached her. "Won't you talk to me? Listen, I'm trying to help you."

"Stop following me..." Ann glared at him. "Leave me alone!"

"I can't do that," Ren strongly expressed.

"Why...?" Ann wondered putting a hand on her hip. "Why do you keep worrying about me?" She and Ren only stared at each other. But Ann couldn't find it in her to tell Ren to go away and immediately found herself sobbing. Ren felt his chest tighten when looking at Ann bawling her eyes out in front him. He'd feel awful if he just let it go like this.

"Please, just talk to me," Ren reasoned. "I can't ignore you like this. Let's go somewhere safe and we'll talk."

Ann paused her sobbing and wiped the tears from her eyes. "What the heck...?" she sniffed. "I really don't get you..."

Ren had convinced Ann to follow him. He led her to Shibuya Central Street. He noticed a Diner and a Big Bang Burger across the street. The Diner might be packed, so he figured it'd be fine if they went to Big Bang Burger. Luckily, there wasn't a whole lot of people inside the fast food restaurant. Ren and Ann sat down across from each other at one of the tables. A waitress came around to take their order, Ren only asked for water for himself and Ann. The waitress left to fetch their water leaving them both alone.

"I don't have anything to talk about with you," Ann declared.

"That's absolutely fine," Ren said. "You hardly know me, besides my name and what else you may have heard about me around the school." Ren folded his arms across his chest. "So, tell me what had you all upset earlier?"

Ann's lips turned into a thin line as she turned away. "It was just an argument..."

"With Kamoshida?" Ren asked but figured that was who she was talking to. Ann turned her gaze to face Ren but she was only staring down at the table, avoiding eye contact. The waitress soon came back and placed the two cup's of iced water on the table for the two of them.

"Thank you very much!" the waitress called walking away.

Ann rested her hand on her cheek. "You've heard the rumors, haven't you?" Ann asked Ren.

"How could I not hear them," Ren commented.

"I mean the ones about Mr. Kamoshida..." Ann said. "Everyone says we're getting it on. But, that's so not true..." Ren only kept quiet staring at Ann as she traced a napkin on the table with her index finger. "That was him on the other line. I avoided giving him my number for the longest time." Her finger traces over the napkin became rougher. "He told me to go to his place after this... you know what it means." she tightly grasped the napkin in her hand. "If I turn him down, he said he'd take my friend off as a regular on the team."

"I see..." Ren replied softly.

"I've been telling myself this is all for Shiho's sake..." Ann claimed as she sat back. "I can't take it anymore." Ren couldn't find the words to say something to Ann so he stayed silent and let her continue. "I've had enough of this! I hate him!" she closed her eyes. "But still, Shiho's my best friend. She's all I have left in that sorry excuse of a school!" she finally stared Ren in the eyes, her blue eyes had tears cascading down her cheeks. "Amamiya-kun, tell me, what should I do?"

Ren, just seeing Ann crying and pleading for his help made him tightly grasp on his knees. He didn't know what to do, but all he knew was that she needed help. His help. And the only way to do that was to go after the Kamoshida in that other world. But that would ultimately mean the possibility of death for the real Kamoshida. Ren thought he might have to take that chance for someone like Ann. It's honorable of her to take a stand for dealing with Kamoshida for her best friend. But Ann was enduring quite a lot herself like Shiho and the other members of the volleyball team.

"Sorry," Ann apologized wiping her eyes. "I shouldn't have asked. It's not your problem."

_'No,'_ Ren thought. _'It is my problem.'_

"What... am I saying...?" Ann wondered confusingly. "I've barely even talked to you before..."

"It's fine," Ren shrugged. "I don't mind at all," Ren stated pushing up his glasses.

"Huh...?" Ann mouthed with wide eyes. "You're so weird. Usually, everyone just ignores me. Amamiya-kun, are you really a bad person as the rumor says...? You just don't seem like it..."

"Rumor's, eh...?" Ren said as he tried the act like this is the first he's ever heard them. "What do they say about me?"

"That you assaulted someone..." Ann declared slowly. "That you almost killed them..."

"Is that so...?" Ren questioned tilting his head. "Well, if you really must know? I'm bad to the bone." Ren gave a small smirk while pushing his glasses up.

Ann let out a snort, she couldn't believe that Ren could say that with a straight face. "Is that supposed to be a joke?"

"Seems to have worked," Ren commented. "But seriously, they're not true."

"Oh," Ann uttered. "I kinda had a feeling they were all exaggerations. You seemed lonely-almost like you don't belong anywhere..." Ann gave a small smile. "We're the same in that regard. Maybe that's why it was so easy for me to talk to you."

"Must've been why..." Ren said. "So, what are you going to do, Takamaki-san? You're not still considering going to Kamoshida's, are you?"

"No, not a chance. But, I don't know...?" Ann questioned herself. "Is there really no way for me to help Shiho...? I wish he'd just his mind. Like, forget about me, and everything..." Ann stared at Ren and leaned back in her seat, she might've felt like she was asking for too much. "As if something like that would ever happen..."

Now, Ren remembered the possible risks of changing Kamoshida's heart. But, the dying part was only a possibility. After hearing Ann's side, Ren was definitely considering changing Kamoshida's heart and stealing his treasure as Morgana put it.

"Actually, Takamaki-san..." Ren said pushing his glasses up. "It could happen. Maybe sooner than you think."

Ann sat back up and smiled at Ren's attempt to try and make her feel better. "I wasn't asking for a serious response." she sighed. "But I do feel a bit better now."

"I'm glad I can help," Ren nodded smiling.

"I'm gonna head home." Ann grabbed her water and school bag, then scooted out of the booth. Before leaving she turned back around to Ren. "Don't tell anyone what I told you, OK?"

"I promise," Ren alleged.

"I'll try and think of a way to persuade Kamoshida," Ann declared. "Well... thanks, Amamiya-kun."

"Anytime, Takamaki-san," Ren said giving another smile. Ann returned a small smile back at him and went on her way home. Ren folded his arms and crossed his leg over the other. Now, there was another reason to change Kamoshida's heart.

**-O-**

Hiro was currently sitting in the library with Makoto. When they studied, they would ask questions and copy down notes on anything they may have missed. Well, that's how would it go if Hiro's mind wasn't somewhere else. His mind was still on whether he, Ren and Ryuji should go through with what Morgana told them about dealing with Kamoshida. He was too busy thinking that Makoto was still talking about their classroom subjects.

"Hiro, what kind of notes do you have for Advanced World History?" Makoto asked still looking at her own textbook and notes. She was wondering why it was taking a while for him to answer her, she then looked at him. She noticed he seemed deep in thought. "Um, Hiro?"

"Huh?" Hiro mouthed finally staring at Makoto. "Oh, sorry Makoto. I wasn't paying attention."

Makoto put her pencil down and faced Hiro. "Is everything alright? You have been a bit quiet since you got here. Are you perhaps sick? Do you need to go to the nurse? I believe she hasn't gone home yet. "

"What?" Hiro wondered. "No, not at all. I, um...?" Hiro couldn't stop thinking about the talk with Morgana as it was still fresh in his mind. "So, Mako?"

"What's wrong, Hiro?" Makoto asked.

"I want to ask you a question," Hiro declared. "It's nothing class-related and I'd like you to give your opinion on the matter if you can."

"Oh, well alright," Makoto nodded tucking her hair behind her ear. "Go ahead and ask me then."

Now, Hiro had thought to where to begin about this without mentioning anything about Kamoshida, the castle or changing his heart. Though, the best way to go about it is to not mention them at all.

"What would you think if I did something that ended up hurting someone...?" Hiro questioned. "And let's say, that thing I did was something so bad that you would probably not want to talk to me again?"

"I see..." Makoto said with her eyes widened. "Well, I suppose it would depend on what you did. There are lots of ways to hurt someone, Hiro. Like physically or mentally hurting someone. Whether you did something bad or not to this someone, it would be my decision if I didn't want to speak to you anymore."

"Right..." Hiro sighed looking down.

"But, if you do end up doing such a thing, it wouldn't be right for me to just stop talking to you," Makoto said. "You are my friend, Hiro. Whether you were in this kind of situation or not, you'd talk to me about, we'd figure it out together."

"Yeah, you're right," Hiro smiled. "Thanks, Mako. Now then, you asked about my History notes. Come to think of it, I didn't bring my textbook and my notes are inside it. Could you give me a moment to go get it from my locker?"

"I'll be here," Makoto said as she nodded at Hiro as he left out of the library. She kept writing down notes from her textbook but she had to wonder why Hiro would ask such a thing. Was he in some sort of trouble? It still worried her that he would spend his time with Sakamoto-kun and Amamiya-kun. She would hear things like 'I saw Nakamura hanging around the delinquent and the criminal'. But when it comes to Amamiya-kun, the rumors only sounded like exaggerations, but that doesn't mean that she won't keep an eye on him. And with how Sakamoto-kun was, that one didn't need an explanation.

But, with what she hears about those two, she hopes Hiro isn't picking up any habits from them. She supposed she shouldn't worry too much since Hiro was still the same person she's known for pretty much her whole life. Well, at least she hopes he wasn't doing anything shady or dangerous.

**-O-**

Hiro walked down the steps to the second floor. On his way down, he saw a familiar face just leaning against the wall near the stairway. It was Shiho Suzui. Just stopping to only stare at her, he noticed her expression. She was only staring at the ground with a sullen look in her eyes. Hiro also noticed the bruise above her eye. It hurt Hiro inside to see Suzui like that. Hiro was acquainted with her through the Volleyball team. Since Kamoshida coached both boy's and girl's teams, they sometimes had practice at the same time.

Hiro knew earlier today that Ryuji was trying to get info from Shiho, but she wouldn't talk. Hiro wasn't going to try to probe her for info since he was also aware of the practice. Though he hasn't spoken to Shiho in quite a while, he supposed it wouldn't be too bad to talk to her.

"Excuse me, Suzui-san?" Hiro greeted as he approached the girl. The girl came out of her own thoughts and noticed Hiro.

"Huh?" Shiho said. "Oh, Nakamura-senpai." she stopped leaning on the wall to stand up straight. "Do you need anything?"

"I don't need anything, Suzui-san..." Hiro stated. "I just wanted to check-in. Since it's been a while since we spoke. So, how have you been, Suzui?"

The girl looked down at the floor. "I've been... okay, I guess," Shiho said as she turned her eyes to the side. Hiro couldn't help but realize the face she was making. That sad look in her eyes was evidence enough. "How have you been lately, Senpai?"

"I'm good, despite all the rumors I've been hearing about me, I think I'm doing just fine," Hiro shrugged. "By the way, where's Takamaki-san? I assumed she'd be here with you since you two pretty much inseparable." Hiro mentioned while giving a smirk.

Hearing that made Shiho give a tiny smile. "Ann and I are around each other a lot, huh?" Hiro noticed her smile. She seemed to really cherish her friendship with Takamaki a lot. "We spent a little bit of time together after school today."

"I see," Hiro said. "That's good."

"Oh, and she told me about what happened at the Rally," Shiho said. "That you and the transfer student challenged Kamoshida to a game and managed to score a point." Hiro realized her face was one of surprise and could also pinpoint some excitement in it.

"People must be still talking about it..." Hiro commented folding his arms. "It was nothing, really."

"But-but why did you do it?" Shiho asked.

"I... just..." Hiro rubbed the back of his searching for his answer. "I just thought it was something I had to do. I know that's not much but that's how I feel about it."

"I see..." Shiho looked down at the floor. "You're so brave, Nakamura-senpai."

"Brave...?" Hiro was surprised by Shiho's words. "I don't think so," Hiro claimed while tugging on his bandana.

"It's true," Shiho expressed with a nod. "There were people on the team who really admired you." the same could be said about her as well.

"I guess so..." Hiro replied. "Though, that doesn't matter anymore. Now everyone on the team just wants to see me as some kind of traitor since I quit and just spread rumors about me."

Shiho shook her head. "Not everyone thinks that," Shiho smiled. "I don't think that. I don't believe the rumors about you at all."

"You don't?" Hiro wondered. He assumed everyone on the Volleyball team and school believed the rumors. Then again, the boy's Volleyball team were the ones who spread the rumor that Hiro tried to fight Kamoshida. Which was what Kamoshida's Shadow mentioned. Though, it made Hiro happy and appreciate that Shiho was one that didn't believe the rumors at all. At least there was someone who can think for themselves and not believe everything little thing they hear.

"Thank you, Suzui-san," Hiro smiled gratefully. "I appreciate that." Hiro went to leave down the stairs. "I'll talk to you later, Suzui. Don't be a stranger."

"Wait, Senpai..." Shiho called out as Hiro was about to head down the steps. He turned around wondering what she was going to say. "Um, I have a question if you wouldn't mind answering? How..." she took a breath and stared at Hiro. "How do you feel after quitting the Volleyball team?"

Hiro was a bit taken aback with Suzui's question. No one has asked him how he felt about quitting the team. He had his reasons for the quitting but he never told anyone how he feels about quitting now that he did. Ever since he awakened his Persona, he felt a weight has been lifted off his shoulders as he accepted his Persona's words. He felt like he could ignore the untrue rumors about him and if he, Ryuji and Ren do something about Kamoshida then he can really put it all behind him.

"I feel refreshed..." Hiro explained.

"Refreshed...?" Shiho tilted her head in confusion. Not understanding what Hiro was talking about.

"Yeah," Hiro said as he embarrassingly scratched his head. "It's hard to explain and put into words, but... that's how I feel about quitting the team."

Shiho seemed a little confused but gave a nod. "I see..." she smiled. "That's good. I'll let you go now, Nakamura-senpai. I'll talk to you later."

"Sure thing," Hiro smiled back. "And Suzui-san, if you ever want to talk, I'd be happy to listen." Hiro walked down the stairs as Shiho watched him walk off.

"Refreshed..." she repeated. Even after everything Senpai had been through, he was able to smile and get over everything that he himself endured on the Volleyball team. She wondered if she were able to quit volleyball, she'd feel the same way. But she could never do that. She had to work hard to get to her starter position on the team despite all the... trials she's had to endure. She began to think about the said 'trials'. Wincing from the pain she's suffered, but she couldn't give up, not when she's come so far. Shiho decided that she was going to head home but before she could even leave down the stairs she was soon stopped by Mishima.

"Suzui..." Mishima spoke as he came close to her. "Are you leaving...?"

She was going to head home. But what does Mishima want at a time like this? She turned around to look at him. "What is it...?" she wondered.

"Mr. Kamoshida's asking for you..." Mishima mentioned. "He's in the PE faculty office."

Shiho looked down at the floor. "What did he say?"

"I don't know," Mishima shook his head. "Well... I have to go." With that, Mishima ran off leaving Shiho alone. Shiho watched him go and as soon as he was gone, her cell phone began ringing. She saw who the caller ID was from, it was Ann calling her. "Ann..." Shiho stowed away her phone. She knows she'll have to call her later and started walking up to the faculty office. When she got to the office, she opened the door to come inside.

"Please, excuse me..." Shiho announced as she opened the door. To see Kamoshida, sitting in his chair, his arms folded with a smile on his face.

"Suzui, sorry for suddenly calling you here like that," Kamoshida said. "Can you shut the door?"

"What did you need me for...?" Shiho asked. Shiho was mentally preparing, she probably messed up without knowing and was getting ready to 'punish her'. But, this must be about something else. It had to be since Shiho knows she hasn't made any mistakes as of late.

"Suzui, from what I've seen, it seems that your performance has been dropping quite a bit lately," Kamoshida explained. "You understand that, right?"

"Yes," Shiho nodded slowly. Perhaps she did mess up.

"If this goes on, I might have to rethink making you a starter at the next meet," Kamoshida interpreted.

"Huh!?" Shiho exclaimed. "Y-You can't!"

Kamoshida placed a hand to his chin. "Don't panic," he told her. "Whether I can actually make you a starter or not still depends on you," Kamoshida smirked deviously at the girl. "As long as you can keep quiet until I'm finished. Suzui..."

Shiho didn't like the leer Kamoshida was giving her. It was nothing like the times when he was angry with her when she messed up. He seemed like he had some other idea in mind for her to keep her starter position. Kamoshida stood up from his chair as he slowly crept up to Shiho, his smirk still plastered on his face. Shiho shut her eyes as Kamoshida slammed his hand on the door near Shiho's face, startling her.

"Mr. Kamoshida!?" Shiho frantically breathed out. "What are you-!?" her breath hitched when he felt his hand trace her thigh.

* * *

**Okay, that last part is actually a little creepy. Not much happened in this chapter. So, I guess you could call it a setup chapter. While I must be confident in how I did this chapter, I feel it wasn't my best one since it's pretty much canon stuff we've seen before. **

**If you have noticed the tags for the story now, I decided the pairing to be HiroxMakoto. I kinda like how I'm doing their relationship so far. I'll admit, sometimes Makoto is a little tough to come up with dialogue for since I don't want to make her OOC. For right now, I want her to be suspecting of Hiro. Trying to figure out what's going on with him, Ren, and Ryuji. But, we know she doesn't get involved with investigating the Phantom Thieves before the Madarame arc.**

**I'm going to put a poll up on my profile to figure out if Hiro should be paired with two girls instead of one. So it would probably turn into HiroxMakotox?. But, I'm completely fine with just keeping between Hiro and Makoto. But even so, depending on how things go, there are going to be those alternate chapters with HiroxOther girl. I'll make it it's own separate story Not sure if they'll be in between the story or after the story. We'll see ;)**

**Reviews...**

**ShadowUzumaki55: I do find the idea of Hiro paired with Hifumi really interesting. Hifumi is one of my favorite girls outside the Phantom Thieves next to Takemi. Well, be sure to vote in the poll for the pairing options.**

**Walter Hitchcock: Thanks for saying that. Oddly enough, I do like to imagine Hiro in the game sometimes. ****No, I will not be adding the new characters from P5 Royal in this story since we don't really know much about them from little we've seen. I think when the game becomes available in the West I may try to implement the new elements from the Royal to this story.**

**Grimraven.V: Well, depending on how that poll I make goes, this story could turn into HiroxMakotoxHaru.**

**ReallyLazyReader: I've never seen the Fate series, I might watch it at some point. I have actually never played the PQ games, but I've seen a lot of gameplay of them since they look interesting. **

**I've actually never thought about how Hiro would interact with the past Persona teams. He might connect with Yu a little since they both have family members who are police detectives and a younger sibling who they take care of at home. Well, since Hiro's considered a 'dog', I see him possibly having a unison raid with Koromaru. I think that would be pretty cool.**

**GreenD109: As I mentioned, I'm fine either way with what people decide in the poll. Well, Ren is the Wild Card, so yes. He will be using multiple Persona's. And similar to Yu Narukami from Persona 4 The Animation, Ren will continue to use Arsene who I want to just be pretty much OP similar to Izanagi from P4TA.**

**Raidentensho: Hercules as Hiro's ultimate Persona, huh? Hercules definitely matches with the Strength Arcana. Since he's one of the strongest gods from Greek Mythology and a hero. I'm not confirming anything yet, but Hercules would be a cool ultimate Persona for Hiro.**

**Joker2000: Thank you. Glad you like it.**

**Persona 5 Royal news! Why? Because Persona, that's why!**

**We finally got Kasumi Yoshizawa's Persona. It is called Cendrillon and it's based on Cinderella, from the folk tale. Her Arcana is called 'The Faith'. That's a new one. That's cool since now people can go ahead and keep whether they gave their OC the Aeon or the Jester Arcana. Lastly, her English VA is Laura Post.**

**Up next, Takuto Maruki who we know the Arcana for is voiced by Billy Kametz. That's awesome since Hiro is voiced by Zach Aguilar who also voices Koichi Hirose from Diamond is Unbreakable. If Hiro and Takuto are talking it'll just be Koichi and Josuke Higashikata having a conversation.**

**Since we're on the topic of voice actors, let me show you what I have for VA's for my OC's. Because I keep forgetting to do it! Right now it's only Hiro and his family.**

**Yasuhiro Nakamura:**

**Zack Aguilar(English VA)**

**Kensho Ono(Japanese VA)**

**Hamuko Nakamura:**

**Christine Marie Cabanos(English VA)**

**Ayane Sakura(Japanese VA)**

**Akitoshi Nakamura:**

**Jason Douglas(English VA)**

**Hiroshi Yanaka(Japanese VA)**

**They're just my picks. They might change at some point, just for warning. ****That's all for now and be sure to check out that poll when you can.**

**I'll see you guys next time!**

**Later!**


	9. Update!

**It's been a while, hasn't it? Anyway, I may have lost a bit of inspiration for this fic. But playing Persona 5 Royal is somewhat bringing it back. I believe I mentioned somewhere I wanted to add in the new additions from Royal into this story. I will also be making a few changes to my character, Yasuhiro. I am changing his family name and his codename. I initially liked 'Wolf' for him since I thought it would be interesting for him to have an animal theme similar to the other Phantom Thieves. But I believe his new codename will fit him better than Wolf did.**

**Wasn't sure if anyone was expecting the next chapter but I just wanted to let you all know that the story isn't dead or rather I'm not dead hence the lack of updates. So, yes, I think it'll be easier to add my new additions into this story which means reworking some chapters(I'm currently working on fixing chapter 1), and the title of this story will be changed.**

**If anyone's got questions or any new ideas they would like to see,**** feel free to request them. **

**JayH120.**


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